Hickman finishes another game before seventh-inning stretch.
Hickman first baseman Andrew Mueller stepped into the batter’s box Saturday and stared down Joplin’s relief pitcher Kyle Veazey. The Kewpies stood two runs away from ending the quarterfinal game 12-2 in the fifth and there was only one out left.
“I felt like I had to make up for the last game when I didn’t do so good,” Mueller said. “I kept up my confidence and decided I was going to get it done today.”
Mueller’s teammate Justin Jackson took a lead off second base. Mueller had a chance to end the game with one swing of the bat.
Veazey released a curveball to the outside and Mueller didn’t chase it. Next the Eagles pitcher threw a fastball and Mueller took a full cut at it.
The ball sailed to center with the outfielders chasing its shadow. The ball disappeared over the fence and the home crowd erupted.
Mueller didn’t even get a chance to round the bases because he was mobbed by his teammates.
“I could tell when the curve ball was coming and I knew his fastball wasn’t going to blow by me,” Mueller said. “I read the curveball and got set for the fastball.”
Mueller scored the first and last runs by driving in three runs in the first with a double to left center field and his two-run home run in the fifth.
The Kewpies’ offense dominated the Eagles’ pitching throughout the game with hits up and down the lineup. Joplin starter Brad Secrist gave up six hits and five runs in the first two innings. Veazey relieved him in the third and gave up seven hits and as many runs.
“We didn’t get ahead in the count,” Joplin coach Kirk Harryman said. “You’re in trouble that way and with their lineup you get behind. We just didn’t have enough answers for their lineup.”
Hickman’s lineup never let up throughout the game and at the beginning of each inning coach Dave Wilson would call out to his batters to “Win the inning.”
“That’s a motto that my coaches used with me,” Wilson said. “The first time you get complacent on a baseball field, man it can come back to bite you right away. We try to stay focused on every inning. It’s battle, battle, battle.”
Kewpie centerfielder Blake Tekotte battled, bringing in a run in the second with a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run in the fifth that set Mueller up for his winning home run.
“Winning every inning is key,” Tekotte said. “If you play like every inning is a ballgame it keeps the intensity up, especially in the dugout.”
That intensity has let Tekotte hit a home run in each of his past four games.
“I’m kind of in a rhythm right now, just going at it and swinging at strikes,” Tekotte said. “We’ve got a great lineup, one through nine, and anybody can step up and it’s kind of a wonder who it’s going to be.”
“It takes confidence and confidence plays a large part in that,” Wilson said. “We have an extremely confident club. We feel confident because we’ve put the time in, put the work in and that’s what it takes to do anything in life.”
Hickman starter Zach Heath allowed three hits and two runs in the first. After the first he shut out Joplin by striking out four batters and only giving up one hit.
“First inning always has been my worst inning,” Heath said. “After that first inning I just got into my head that I’m going to go out there and shut them out. I was looking to shut them out the whole game but the first inning got away a little bit. I came back and settled down and felt good after that.”
Hickman (27-2) is the only team in the state tournament that has ended ball games early because of the rule and it has done so every game.
Its sectional game against Fort Zumwalt West ended in the sixth and its quarterfinal game against Joplin was ended in the fifth.
The Kewpies will face Lee’s Summit in the semifinals of the state tournament on Friday. Lee’s Summit beat Fort Osage 3-1 in its quarterfinal game on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Taylor Stadium.