Once, twice ... nine times a champion

The number nine will be synonymous with Junction City’s run to the 2A state title.

The Dragons ended the 2019 season by capturing their ninth state title in their storied history, going unblemished with a 9-0 record in the postseason after outlasting Woodlawn 2-1 Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

Junction City won their first state title since 2014 and ended Woodlawn’s bid for a fourth straight title that began back in 2016 against the Dragons.

“This one here, being as close a game as it was and the way it ended, it was pretty exciting for all of us,” said Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett. “It feels great, not just for me, but our players, their parents, our fans and my coaches that help me. It was a just a good feeling.”

Junction City entered the season as a team to watch as a contender for the state title, but as the season went on, the Dragons began to dominate their opposition.

During their 12-game winning streak that spanned March and April, the Dragons outscored their opponents 127-11.

In the 8-2A, Junction City outscored its foes 75-6, but finished in second place after Parkers Chapel stunned the Dragons by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to erase a 3-0 deficit before going on to win 4-3 in nine innings.

Junction City fell at home to Smackover on the following day, but an 8-3 win over McCrory gave the Dragons some momentum going into the postseason.

From that point on, the Dragons did not lose the rest of the way, outscoring its opponents 88-12 during their 10-game winning streak that closed the season.

“It’s most definitely a feat in itself just from the competition,” Hammett said of his team’s 9-0 run in the postseason. “Our district tournament and our regional tournament is as tough as the state tournament. We proved that by playing Woodlawn in the finals and Horatio in the semifinals.”

Hammett also credited his seniors, but singled out Jack Smith and Bryce Ware for keeping the team loose, particularly during tense times in the postseason.

“I give credit to all my seniors. All of them led by example, but probably Jack Smith and Bryce Ware probably were our two leaders on the team,” Hammett said. “The thing about them every day was that they showed they were ready to practice more. I know it’s hard to be ready every game, but those two guys seemed to be ready. When we got to regional time, we did mention it that just for the fact that we didn’t play well last year (a 7-5 loss to Prescott that ended the Dragons’ season) and we mentioned, ‘Hey guys, this is not pressure. It’s just a fact. You’ve got to play well today.’ And they seemed to keep everybody relaxed because the confidence that they exerted rubbed off on everybody else.

“Once we got that one that got us in the state tournament, we had some tough games, but we were really rolling. I think after we got beat at Parkers Chapel that night and Smackover beat us the next day, our goal was to win 10 games in a row. We wanted to see if we could get on another run. We didn’t know if we would, but we did.”

Going into the state tournament, the Dragons were pegged by some pundits as the favorites to win the state title despite the South region being represented by the defending 2A and 1A state champions in Parkers Chapel and Woodlawn along with the 3A runner-up from 2018 in Horatio.

So how did the Dragons handle the extra attention? They stayed true to the thought process that had gotten them there.

“Our process was when we made it to the state tournament, it was the same it had been all year. It was our next one, so it was our biggest one. We just wanted to take it pitch by pitch,” Hammett said. “I didn’t mention anything about being a favorite until we actually got to the state tournament.

“We were checking into the hotel. Hector’s coach is checking in ahead of me, and he turned around and said, ‘Junction City. You’re the favorite to win this aren’t you?’ I said, ‘I don’t know if we’re the favorite or not. We’re here to play.’ Somehow when I was talking to my group about the first game, we put the whole picture out there pitching-wise, and I said, ‘By the way guys, that coach in there just said we were the favorites to win it. I said I don’t know if we are or not. All I know is let’s get ready to play Carlisle.’ We preceded to take care of business like we planned on one pitch at a time in each game.”

And while Junction City’s offense was certainly prodigious, the pitching staff was crucial in the Dragons’ run.

In nine postseason games, Junction City allowed just nine runs total, and they were at their best in downing Woodlawn twice by a run, as well as staving off Horatio 3-1 in the state semifinals.

Keelan Hodge, the MVP of Friday’s win, struck out nine and walked five while allowing just two hits and one run in six innings to pick up his second win over Woodlawn this year.

T.J. Bale, who got the save in the state finals, fired a two-hit shutout to beat the Bears 1-0 in the semifinals of the regional tournament.

Ty Disotell allowed just one run in 12 postseason innings that included a four-hitter in the Dragons’ win over Horatio.

“It speaks volumes about our pitchers and wanting the ball in a biggame situation,” Hammett said of his pitching staff. “All of three of them that we used, and even including Tanner (McLelland) that we used late against Parkers Chapel (in the regional final), wanted the ball and performed well. Also on top of that, they threw strikes and we played pretty good defense like we did today (Friday).

“Ty at third made two outstanding plays, one was in the sixth with two outs to get us out of the inning. Our pitchers have got to throw strikes and they did that. It was a super job. Keelan went to a bunch of 3-2 counts early and got his pitch count up. They got that one hit (Garrett Cowart’s RBI double), and it was the first base hit he had gotten off of us in three games. It was just one of those things. He hit it on the nose in the right spot, and they had a runner in scoring position and went up on us. Keelan didn’t flinch. He kept throwing and found a rhythm and got us through the sixth. T.J. came in and finished it out.”

Three years after coming up short against Woodlawn, the Dragons turned the tables and ended the Bears’ bid to make history of their own, and it would seem that the series between the two schools has come full circle for now.

“In 2016, it was a long ride and a sad one, pretty quiet,” Hammett said. “This one was still a long ride, but a lot more enjoyable for everybody, and to top it off, Woodlawn being one of our rivals makes it a little more special I guess, it doesn’t matter who it is, but at the same time, they started their streak against us in 2016, and we were lucky enough to end it.”