High School Baseball Forum: Class 5 Jackson Baseball Heating Up

Replies (23)

• Harder than McDaniel?

  -- Posted by Semo1990 on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 8:02 AM

• Still have to contend with Vianney, Rockwood Summit, etc. Their top pitchers throw in the low 90s. These teams 2nd and 3rd pitchers throw about the same as Weber from Jackson.

  Again, day in and day out, Jackson does not play good Class 5 teams.

  -- Posted by Mr. Baseball on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 10:02 AM

• Tribe easily the cream de la crop in SEMO

  -- Posted by cirithungol17 on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 10:06 AM

• Agree. Jackson is best among SEMO, but very few schools to compare to for Class 5. They even play Class 1 teams.

  -- Posted by Mr. Baseball on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 10:25 AM

• I don't know how hard McDaniel throws, but I've heard that Weber will hit the low 90's on occasion. Even Coach Kitchen recently said in a game summary that Weber is the hardest thrower in the SEMO area. I agree with Mr. Baseball's comment regarding Jackson not playing the same caliber teams as the St. Louis schools, but you can only play the teams on your schedule. Driving to St. Louis 30 times a season isn't doable. Whoever comes out of Class 5 District 1 will have to play near perfect and hope for a few breaks along the way to make a run in the playoffs. There are some really good teams in the St. Louis and Kansas City area! Jackson and Bluff are the best teams in the SEMO area, but simply don't go as deep as the big boys in the city.

  -- Posted by bigballer99 on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 10:44 AM

• I have not seen Weber throw 90. If I had to guess, he is maybe 87 tops. People always exaggerate velocity when they see a pitcher who noticeably throws harder than the average HS pitcher. That being said, the kid is a very good pitcher with great stuff.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 11:15 AM

• I've seen Weber. He's a good pitcher but he doesn't throw 90 or low 90s. He is fast for this area but that isn't saying a lot. Some pitiful baseball in this area.

  -- Posted by crackerjack on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 12:47 PM

• I wouldn't call the area pitiful in baseball. Classes 1-3 from Southeast Missouri are in the state championships quite frequently. The Class 4 and 5 have talent, but just lack stiff competition due to fewer schools being that size. I think the talent is fine in SEMO.

  -- Posted by Mr. Baseball on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 2:02 PM

• Maybe they are one of the better teams around here because their school is the biggest in this area by far. It's crazy how Jackson during the regular season is beating up on abunch of smaller schools then once they play schools their own size they get whooped in all sports.

  -- Posted by TheNewsReporter on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 5:10 PM

• I think they play a solid schedule. They play every weekend. They go to St. Louis multiple times. They go to solid out of state teams. Is it such a sin they play class 1 power cooter, class 2 power Valle, and class 2 solid team like portageville? Yes, they play kelly but that's probably been on the schedule since before most of us were born. It's not like they're scheduling risco or clarkton.

  -- Posted by PimpDaddyTaddy on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 6:14 PM

• No offense to Cooter but a class 1 power is like a freshman team in Class 5. No comparison.

  -- Posted by crackerjack on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 6:35 PM
• 

  Agree. The best team in class one loses the 20th ranked team in class 5. Probably lower.

  -- Posted by BlueNote on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 7:02 PM
• 

  Taking nothing away from Jackson though!! They are talented.

  -- Posted by BlueNote on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 7:17 PM

• Jackson played Vianney,CBC, Fort Zumwalt West, Lee's Summit West, Fort Zumwalt South, Notre Dame in one week. I don't think their Coach can schedule STL teams every week.... They have to play their conference and district opponents.

  No they are not as deep as all of the STL schools, why is that a negative or a surprise.

  They have 2 District Championships in a row and will probably be in contention again this year.

  Their coach helped build a travel program (Tribe) that will make them a power for years to come and none of those players have played at Varsity level yet that I know of.

  I have stood behind the gun when Weber was sitting 87-88 consistently last year. I think he has started slow so far this year but he is getting going.

  Their best ERA guy (Newell) last year isn't bad either. He locates multiple pitches and don't get rattled.

  They have 2 other pitchers this year that are throwing well too (Dobbs and Brown).

  Not every STL powerhouse have pitchers that hit 90. Only a few pitchers sit 90 in games ( one from Vianney that beat Jackson and one from Summit) most of the top STL HS pitchers are 85-88 and can throw breaking balls for a strike.

  -- Posted by insidescoop on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 9:28 PM

• I dont think you can hate on them. There schedule is tougher than Class 5 Cape Central and Poplar Bluff along with the Class 4 schools in the area. They play all SEMO Conference schools, district teams and a tough tourney in STL with schools that are much larger than them. Their enrollment is under the halfway point in 5A. They have done a solid job competing with the big boys.

  -- Posted by bulldogfn on Tue, Apr 18, 2017, at 10:05 PM

• Jackson Indians get to head down to bluff to show the mules the heat. I assume Weber (D1 commit) is on the mound for the indians tonight?

  -- Posted by sportsfan14 on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 12:43 PM

• I think PB just beat Jacksons ace! in fact I believe they saw all 3 of Jacksons best pitchers if gamechanger is right. Jackson started off hot until they got shut down by Rice

  -- Posted by 643doubleplay on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 7:07 PM

• But don't you worry 643doubleplay Jackson would have won in a 3 game playoff LOL.

  -- Posted by TheNewsReporter on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 9:03 PM

• lol I'm sure they would. I guess they could match up two now times in the next two weeks in Conference and districts.

  -- Posted by 643doubleplay on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 9:30 PM

• Doesn't Bluff struggle in district tournament. You guys (643 and news ) may know this better than others. Haven't they been the #1 seed the last couple years but lost early in the tournament.

  -- Posted by baseball rocks on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 9:49 PM

• Haha touche news reporter.

  -- Posted by PimpDaddyTaddy on Mon, Apr 24, 2017, at 10:25 PM

• Congrats to Poplar Bluff. Rice threw well, and kept the batters at bay. Like so many high school pitchers (like Rice, and Tibbs last year) that throw in the low 70's with good control - they are throw to contact pitchers. Nothing wrong with that. They are effective high school pitchers. Batters aren't afraid of them so they step to the plate and swing away - usually hitting into easy outs. Hard throwers however have to hit their spots because most the batters are too afraid to swing. They step into the box hoping for a walk. If you have ever been to a game or showcase with scouts or recruiters there, the first thing they do is get the gun out to see how hard a pitcher is throwing. (You have to have velo to pitch past high school). It was a good game today. Weber had good velocity , but missed his spots on occasion. Didn't help that the strike zone was the size of a Frisbee, and he hadn't pitched in a game for 2 weeks. Makes it tough to have good command of your pitches that way (when you throw that hard). Bluff is a good team and it is hard to win in that environment. They didn't hit him much though - only 4 groundball singles and an infield hit over 5 innings. Brown and Hutchison found it equally difficult to throw in that tight zone. Will be interesting should the 2 teams face off over the next couple weeks.

  -- Posted by bigballer99 on Tue, Apr 25, 2017, at 1:51 AM

• Yes Poplar Bluff seems to choke in every district tournament. It is baseball. In my opinion there are 4 good teams in Semo that can beat each other on any given day and that is Pb, Jackson, ND and Sikeston

  -- Posted by 643doubleplay on Tue, Apr 25, 2017, at 9:17 AM