Heck strikes out 7 to lead Alton past Neelyville in C2D2 Tournament

Ryley-Cage Armes, right, tries to jump over a tag attempt from Jed Montgomery during the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 Tournament against Alton on Monday, May 13, 2019, in Van Buren.

DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC/Paul Davis

VAN BUREN — Alton’s defense lifted it to a win over Neelyville on Monday.

Cainan Heck struck out seven and pitched a complete game to lead the Comets to a 3-1 win in the quarterfinals of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 Tournament in Van Buren. Heck allowed four hits and three walks, striking out seven. With the win, fourth-seeded Alton moves on to play top-seeded Ellington in the semifinals.

“Overall, I have to say we did a really, really good job pitching the ball. We attacked the strike zone, and we didn’t let up,” Alton coach Cuyler Marty said. “The whole time, we pitched to contact, got a lot of swing misses and weak contact. We did a really good job, especially for (Heck) to go the complete game right there.”

The Comets (10-11) broke through offensively in the bottom of the fourth. Dillon Harrington hit a leadoff single and stole his way to third with nobody out. Haddock tallied his second RBI of the game with a single into center field that scored Harrington. Clark drew a walk and eventually scored the second run of the inning to give Alton a three-run cushion.

The Tigers ended Alton’s shutout bid in the sixth inning and had a chance to tie the game. Nathan Akers drilled a single with one out. The ball landed just inside the foul line. After Akers stole second base, Austin Ennis sent him home with an RBI single into left field.

Neelyville put the tying runs on second and third with one out. Alton intentionally walked Lane Crosswhite to load the bases with one out. The Comets came out with the best-case scenario and turned a double play on a ground ball to preserve their two-run lead.

“It’s kind of been the story of our season,” Neelyville coach Tyler Thompson said. “We’ve struggled to come up with that big hit all year. The three games we’ve won we’ve came up with those big hits. The other games, it seems like we always have that big chance. We just can’t quite seem to find a way.”

Through four innings, the difference in the game was a run from Ben Oesch in the second inning. Oesch hit a leadoff bloop single that just made it into the outfield. Noah Burton tried to make a play on the ball, but as he dove, the ball popped out of his glove when he hit the ground.

Ryder Clark advanced Oesch to second with a sac bunt, and with two outs, Lexton Haddock hit an RBI single to bring in Oesch for the game’s first run.

Both offenses were otherwise silent for the first half of the game.

Parker Jeffries was solid on the mound for Neelyville. He pitched five innings and struck out six, allowing six hits and two walks. Burton pitched an inning and needed seven pitches to get through it, striking out two.

“I thought the two guys who pitched for us, they’ve been good all year for us,” Thompson said. “They don’t really allow the big innings. The defense really played well. For the last two or three weeks, our defense has played well. We’ve stayed in a lot of games, but like I said, just haven’t been able to come up with that big hit.”

Neelyville’s offense struggled to get going. One Tiger reached scoring position through four innings. Hunter Gilmore drew a walk and was moved to second on a bunt, but subsequent fly balls to left field ended the inning with no damage done.

Neelyville (3-20) tried to generate some momentum in the top of the fifth. Jacob Jeffries hit a leadoff single to give the Tigers their first hit. He was caught stealing after a perfect throw from Clark to second base. Heck struck out the last batter to end the inning and keep his clean sheet through five innings.

The fifth-seeded Tigers put forth a much better result than their previous meeting with the Comets in the fall season, a matchup they lost 19-2.

Alton will face Ellington in the C2D2 semifinals at 4 p.m. Tuesday.