Semoball

Kelly scores five over two innings to defeat East Prairie 8-5

Kelly's Bryce Morgan hits the ball during a baseball game against East Prairie, Friday, March 26, 2021, at Thomas W. Kelly High School, in Benton, Mo.
Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat

BENTON, Mo. — Through three games this season, the Kelly baseball team has shown that it can put crooked numbers on the scoreboard at any point.

On Friday, they made it four games in-a-row, defeating East Prairie 8-5 at Thomas W. Kelly High School in Benton. The Hawks tallied five runs over two innings to edge a gritty Eagles' bunch and remain undefeated on the year.

Falling behind 1-0 in the first, Kelly (4-0) responded by scoring two runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 advantage.

In the top of the inning, junior Jase Aycock led-off with a base hit.

Then, with junior Garrison Scott batting, Aycock showed his baserunning ability by stealing second. Scott wound-up striking out, but not before the speedy leadoff man found himself in scoring position with one away.

Not stopping at one stolen base, Aycock added a second in the frame, after stealing third, with junior Hayden Ellis at the plate, before scoring on a passed ball after the Kelly catcher couldn't hang onto sophomore Colton Essner's offering.

Needing an answer, the Hawks acted quickly.

Senior Drew Dirnberger and junior Bryce Phelps started the Hawks' half of the first with back-to-back walks.

Then, after a double steal that advanced both Dirnberger and Phelps into scoring position, Kelly found itself with a golden opportunity to strike and didn't let it go to waste.

Like Aycock, Dirnberger also scored on a passed ball to even the game, 1-1.

For a brief moment, East Prairie (1-2) had the upper hand.

Junior Gavin Jansen, though, wouldn’t let any momentum shift to the opposition at the time, as Kelly took its first lead of the contest after he reached on an error by the Eagles’ third baseman to score Phelps and make it 2-1.

Despite East Prairie only having one lead in the game, the Eagles still made it interesting early on.

Starting the second inning with two-straight outs, it looked like an easy 1-2-3 frame for Essner.

But, junior Cooper Towe had other plans.

On the first pitch he saw, Towe hammered the Essner offering over the left-field fence for a home run to tie the game, 2-2.

Towe's round-tripper was the first of two home runs on the day. Scott hit the other in the top of the fifth.

"Those were big hits for us that kept us in the game," East Prairie head coach Gary Scott said. "They got a good pitch to hit; got the barrel on it, and fortunately, they carried out.”

No matter the circumstance, the Eagles continued to battle, especially through the first two innings.

The next two frames, though, proved to be East Prairie’s downfall.

After striking out the side in-order, Kelly gave Essner the run support he deserved the next chance it had.

Executing with two outs was the biggest thing for the Hawks, and it showed in the third-and-fourth frames.

Dirnberger started the third by getting hit by a pitch.

Then, after Phelps grounded into a double play, it seemed like East Prairie was about to escape with no damage.

Jansen, though, drew a walk, and then after stealing second, senior Bryce Morgan broke the tie by plating Jansen with an RBI single to make it 3-2.

The Hawks didn't stop there, though, as they scored two more runs to take a 5-2 cushion into the fourth.

Junior Joel McClain drew a walk, while freshman Reece Eftink added a hit to load the bases for senior Jason Bain.

And, like Morgan, the fellow senior delivered, as he singled home a pair.

"I think that was a big turning point for us," Kelly head coach Jeremy Smith said. "They had a big fly home run that their seven-hole hitter got ahold of, and you got to tip your hat to him. For us, Bain is one of those guys that we saw in batting practice the last couple of days, and he's been stroking the ball well. We wanted to give him an opportunity because he's earned it, and he came through for us. He's a senior, and he did senior things; the same thing with BMo, with that right field shot over there as well. So, those are two seniors, and we look forward to that leadership from him."

Kelly went on to add two more runs in the fourth — also with two outs — to make it 7-2.

"The third and the fourth inning was the difference in the game," Gary Scott said. "They scored five runs with two outs. If we could have got out of those innings without giving up any, we would have had a shot, but credit to Kelly for not quitting right there."

Striking out also didn't make matters better for East Prairie.

Altogether, the Eagles punched out 13 times.

"We struck out way too many times. We have to put the ball in play to make things happen," Gary Scott said. "Fortunately, we had a couple of big home runs to help us score a few runs, and today was a good day for us, as far as allowing some of our pitchers who haven't been on the mound an opportunity to work. Get a good look at them. Overall, we have to hit the ball, and we have to put it in play."

Eight of those 13 strikeouts came from Essner.

Over his four innings of work, he allowed three hits and two runs — one earned — and walked one.

"He completed well for us," Smith said. "I thought he did a phenomenal job. He's just a sophomore, and he's out there competing for conference wins. He's got two conference wins now for us; he started last weekend. For him, as a sophomore, coming in there, he's got a great defense behind him, letting hitters hit and let our defense do the work. He gave up a couple of big flys, and that's apart of baseball sometimes. It wasn't that he executed pitches; it's sometimes the hitter hits it.”

In addition to Essner, freshman Dalton Forck also pleased Smith.

Forck pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief. He punched out five batters, did not allow a hit, and walked one to earn the save.

"How big was that?" Smith said. “He's a freshman, and he's got great stuff. It's more of having the confidence to compete out there at the varsity level. He's going to be big for us. He did a phenomenal job coming in, in a tight spot where they started to get a little bit of energy, and we love his stuff.”

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WP — Colton Essner. LP — Leven Turner. 2B — Bryce Phelps (K). HR — Cooper Towe (EP), Garrison Scott (EP). Multiple hitters: Kelly — Bryce Morgan 2-4.

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