Round Three

News-Times Staff

Two of the state’s most successful programs will try to add to their storied histories this morning, as Junction City and Woodlawn meet for the 2A state championship at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

Game time is set for 10 a.m.

The Dragons (29-8), the South’s top seed, are seeking their ninth state title in school history. They have won nine straight, 21 of their last 23 overall, and are trying to cap a perfect postseason.

The Bears (23-8), the South’s No. 3 seed, are trying for their fourth consecutive state championship spanning two classes and their seventh state title since 2008.

Woodlawn enters the title game on a four-game winning streak and they have won seven of their last nine games.

This morning’s meeting is the third between the schools this year.

Junction City downed Woodlawn 7-0 last month in a game at Junction City that was called due to rain after five innings.

Their second meeting came two weeks ago in the semifinals of the regional tournament with the Dragons prevailing 1-0.

Now the Dragons must find a way to top the Bears for a third time to win the state championship.

“The more times you play somebody, the more familiar they become with you as far as your hitters, your pitching and all of that, but at the same time, we do too,” said Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett. “It’s hard to beat somebody, especially a good team three times in a row. Our philosophy is, ‘Lets get ourselves ready to play,’ and we know the scouting report on Woodlawn and their hitters and pitchers, which helps both of us because we know each other a little bit.

“But at the end of the day, and I told the guys that records don’t really mean a whole lot except that we know we’ve beaten them this year, and we know if we play well again, we’ll have a chance to do it again. We just look at it as one game. It’s our last game, and we just want to be ready to go from the first pitch to the last one and we’ll live with it.”

Woodlawn began its streak of state titles three years ago against Junction City, and they kept their hopes of a fourth straight title alive by overcoming a seven-run deficit to top South Side Bee Branch 11-10 before downing Lavaca 12-5 and outlasting McCrory 7-6 in the semifinals.

“We played really good defense, we threw strikes and gave ourselves a chance,” said Woodlawn coach Tommy Richardson. “We didn’t know if that was going to be enough against Bee Branch because they came out and hit the baseball all over the yard, but my kids stayed in it and kept fighting.

“I couldn’t be more proud because of the way the guys persevered. When your season is on the line, you’re going to react in one of two ways. You’re either going to run from it or run toward it, and I was proud that they ran toward it.”

The Bears lean on seniors Sam West, who has signed with Southern Arkansas, and Nick Ward, a recruit of Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College.

In the first two games of the state tournament, Ward went 6-for-8 with a home run and eight RBIs, while West chipped in with a pair of multi-hit games.

“Nick Ward hit the ball really well, and he hits the ball really well all the time, so that’s not a big shock,” Richardson said. “He hit one out the first day at Mountain Home. The rest I think were mostly singles and doubles, but he’s a guy we want up there without a doubt.”

The Dragons have been dominant in the postseason, going undefeated while outscoring their opponents 77-8.

Junction City cruised to 9-0 and 11-1 wins over Carlisle and Salem respectively before holding off Horatio 3-1 to reach the state finals.

“The first two games, we jumped out of the gate and hit the ball pretty well from the first inning on,” Hammett said. “We gave up one against Salem in the first, but we came right back and got four in the bottom, and that sort of relaxed us.

“We swung it pretty well both games. Against Horatio, we really thought we would score a few more. Horatio played real well in the field. Every time we seemed to hit one on the nose, it was in the direction of one of their fielders.

“They had to make the play, and they made it. They made several of them. It was just one of those days in baseball. I think we’re swinging it well and getting some big hits. If we can keep doing that, and the bottom of the order can keep getting a few hits and getting on base, I feel good about our chances.”

This morning’s game is the third the Dragons have played at an early hour with their wins over Foreman in the regional tournament and Carlisle in the state tournament coming beforehand.

“I hope it would be an advantage for us just from the fact that we know the routine as far as what time we’re getting up, eating breakfast, going to hit and getting to the field,” Hammett said.

“We’ve had two times to practice on it. It’s a little different. Your mindset has to change a little bit because you’re not used to getting up at seven o’clock in the morning to put on your uniform and go get ready to play a ballgame. Since we’ve done it, I hope it’s not that big a deal because the last two times, once the umpire said, ‘Play ball,’ it’s a baseball game and we seemed to be ready. Hopefully, that will be a little advantage for us. Woodlawn has been there before and done it at 10, so I just think that if the kids are ready, it won’t be that big a deal.”

The Dragons have gotten terrific balance from their lineup in the state tournament.

Bryce Ware has five hits to lead the team with Tanner McLelland next with four hits. Both have driven in two runs.

Charles Hoof, T.J. Bale and Gabe Richard each have three hits and three RBIs with Jack Smith adding three hits along with a team-leading five RBIs.

Although West and Ward have certainly done their part, it’s been the bottom of the lineup that has the Bears in a position to win their fourth straight championship.

“We had the pieces and we’ve had some kids step up,” Richardson said. “The Wards and the Wests of the program, we call them dudes. They’re going to be dudes. It’s those ones that are up and coming that have to step up. We’ve had that happen. Those are the guys that make the difference. Those guys are kind of in the middle of your lower lineup, and you’re not going to score runs unless they’re on base.

“They had a very good tournament, and a very good second half of the year. That’s why we’re sitting where we’re sitting. I believe a lot of it has to do with the kids expecting to be there. This group of seniors, every year, they’ve ended their season at Baum Stadium. They were adamant about doing it again, so here we are. We’ve got a chance. We’re going to end it at Baum Stadium one way or the other.”

Although the Dragons won the two earlier meetings, they had a total of 10 hits with Hoof, Smith and Kelly Graves picking up seven of those hits.

Nick Maynard was outstanding in their contest two weeks ago at the regional tournament, limiting the Dragons to just four hits while walking four with three strikeouts in the aforementioned 1-0 loss.

However, Woodlawn has not been able to generate any offense in the two games thanks to Keelan Hodge and Bale, who combined to shut out the Bears, limiting them to just four singles with 17 strikeouts.

Ward has gone 2-for-5 with Maynard and Jonathan Bright picking up one hit apiece, although Jaxson Case has collected three walks.

“We’ve got to score a couple of runs somehow,” Richardson said. “That’s awful tough with the arms they’ve got and the defense they play. It’s tough. They don’t make it easy. We know ahead of time that we’re going to have to earn what we get. We don’t expect them to give us anything. We know they’re going to beat the strike zone up.

“We know we’re going to have to hit the baseball. It’s just a matter of getting it done. They shut us out twice. I’ve been shut out many times in my coaching career, but they shut us out twice, and it wasn’t because we weren’t trying to score runs, I can promise you that. They did their part, and we expect them to do it again. We’ve got to be ready to swing the bat and ready to hit the baseball.”

If the Bears are to win their fourth straight title, their offense must produce.

“We’ve got to hit the ball better than we did the last two games we played them,” Richardson said. “We’ve got to get some timely hits. You’re not going to play Junction City and rattle off 14 or 15 hits, you just have to get them at the right time. We’ve got to drive runners in when we get a chance.

“We’ve got to play solid defense and we’ve got to pitch it well. That’s what we try to do everyday, so we call it, ‘Good old boring Woodlawn baseball,’ so if we can play some good old boring Woodlawn baseball, we’ve got a shot.”

For the Dragons to prevail, pitching and defense will be of vital importance.

“With us being the home team, we’ve got to jump out there on the field,” Hammett said. “Our pitcher has got to pound the strike zone, and then we’ve got to make plays behind him, especially all of the routine plays. We’ve got to hit the baseball, get some timely hits, bunt it if we have to and steal a few bases to put a little pressure on them early. We’ve just got to be solid all the way through in all phases of the game.”