Sauer shines as Indians secure SEMO Conference Championship

John-Paul Sauer delivers a pitch during the Indians' 5-0 win over Dexter in the SEMO Conference Tournament Championship on Monday, April 29, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau.

Clay Herrell ~ cherrell@semoball.com

A dominant outing from John-Paul Sauer led the Jackson Indians to a 5-0 win over the Dexter Bearcats to claim their third consecutive SEMO Conference Championship at Capaha Field on Monday.

“It’s always fun to win and it’s always fun to play on this field,” Indians coach Josh Roach said. “Dexter played really well today and they’re a really good ball team. Our guys played good team baseball and got the job done.”

Both sides exchanged scoreless innings to begin the game, but not without some dramatics in the Jackson half of the inning.

Cooper Rhodes ripped a one-out single and Peyton Kight walked to give the Indians two on with nobody out.

Dexter starting pitcher Justus Lovelady rolled a pair of groundouts to escape the inning with no damage done.

In the first inning, Sauer worked around a leadoff single to strikeout the side and in the second inning, Sauer punched out two batters as he worked around a two-out walk.

With Sauer dominating, the Jackson offense went to work in the bottom of the second when Drake Weber hit a leadoff triple.

Following the triple, Drew Parsons doubled to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.

Parsons advanced to third on a passed ball and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Adler Flinn, extending the Jackson lead to 2-0.

Cooper Rhodes drove in the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly, making it 3-0 Indians.

“That’s our identity this season,” Roach said. “We have a lot of selfless guys that are willing to hit a sacrifice fly or a ground ball or lay down a bunt if that’s what it takes to get a win.”

Sauer took the hill in the third inning with a three-run lead and continued his dominance, striking out his sixth and seventh batters of the game in his first three innings of work.

“He’s been on the road to recovery with his ACL,” Roach said. “It was really good to see him out there tonight.”

The Bearcats pulled Lovelady after two innings of work as the right-hander allowed three runs on four hits while walking just one.

Jaiden Glency led off the bottom of the third just like the Indians did the second inning; with a triple.

Owen Osborne drove Glency in via sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 Indians.

Perhaps the play of the game came in the top of the fifth when right-fielder Peyton Kight went full extension to haul in a diving catch to prevent extra bases to lead off the inning.

“That’s probably a triple if he doesn’t catch that ball,” Roach said. “Kight has a big, long body, he’s 6-foot-5 and he used every bit of that there. It was fun to watch.”

With one out in the inning, the Bearcats strung together their best scoring opportunity of the contest.

Jaxon Miller reached on an error and in the next at-bat, Houston Neely reached on an error as well, giving the Bearcats first and second with just one out.

Nolan Alford flew out and Ryan Young grounded out as Sauer escaped the jam and preserved his shutout.

In the bottom of the fifth, Drake Weber, who was 2-for-2 with a triple and a double already, dropped an RBI single over the third baseman’s head to extend the Jackson lead to 5-0.

“He’s starting to swing it well,” Roach said. “He did a really good job because we’ve been working with him on his opposite-field approach and he just had a great mindset.”

Sauer was simply dominant— as he neared the century mark in pitches, he was still blowing pitches by Dexter’s hitters, picking up his 11th and 12th strikeouts amid a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

“In the first inning you have to feel everything out,” Sauer said. “My favorite thing is that later in the game I got better about getting ahead in counts.”

Kight’s catch in the fifth inning appeared to be the play of the game, but Dexter’s Nolan Alford had an outstanding play of his own.

With Garrison Brown at the dish, he stung a ball into the left-center field gap and Alford ranged into the gap and went full extension to make the grab.

Needing three outs, Jackson turned the ball over to Carter Shipman, ending Sauer’s masterful outing.

Sauer’s final line was six innings pitched, zero runs on just one hit while striking out 12.

“It was one of his best (since returning),” Roach said. “His velocity was up there. He threw the ball really hard today. One of the things we’ve noticed as he’s been ramping back up is he gets behind in counts a bit but today he did a really good job of getting ahead of hitters. That’s a good sign that he’s feeling comfortable and able to locate his pitches.”

Shipman set down the side in order to retire the Bearcats and give the Indians their third-straight SEMO Conference Tournament Championship.

“Carter Shipman went out and showed what he can do,” Sauer said. “He’s going to get another opportunity later this season.”

Dexter (11-9) has a week off before returning to the diamond at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6, when the Bearcats host Farmington.

Jackson (21-6) returns home at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, as the Indians host Seckman.