Fast start lifts Blue Springs South baseball past Wildcats

Blue Springs South's Austin Holland makes contact with a pitch during Friday's game against Blue Springs. Holland
had a three-run homer and an RBI double in a 12-5 win.

The Blue Springs South baseball team exacted a little bit of revenge against cross-town rival Blue Springs Friday afternoon, earning a 12-5 win and improving to 17-5 on the season.

The Jaguars jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings.

“We hit the ball well,” South head coach Ben Baier said. “I told the hitters, ‘welcome back. It’s nice to see you again.’ Their pitcher threw a lot of off speed stuff and we stayed back on the ball and had some good swings.”

South scored four runs in the first thanks in part to RBI doubles from Colton Pogue and Austin Holland.

Holland struck again in the second with a three-run homer.

“He’s been hurt. Today was only his fourth game,” Baier said of Holland. “He’s a guy we’ve been wanting to see all year.”

Blue Springs had been getting good outings from its starting pitchers as of late, but Friday was a struggle for starter Jay Corwin.

“It was a tough first two innings. It’s hard to come back against a good ball club like them,” Wildcats head coach Marc Hines said. “They hit the ball well, and when they hit it, they hit it hard.”

The Wildcats did leave some runners on base throughout the game, including leaving the bases loaded twice.

But each time they were able to score some runs in an inning, South always came back with runs of its own.

“As the game went on we had runners in scoring position but couldn’t get the big hit,” Hines said. “At one point in the game we had five strikeouts looking, and we can’t do that.”

The Wildcats dropped to 12-8 on the year and 6-3 in conference, now tied with Liberty for first. South is one game back. 

Daily Scores

The lone score in so far tonight is the Blue Springs South soccer team, which ran into a determined Liberty squad. Read more details in the South's tab.

As more scores from tonight become available they will be posted accordingly.

Daily Scores

The Blue Springs South baseball team picked up a dramatic win to get its 15th win of the season, while the Jaguar boys tennis team had just enough left in the tank for some good results in the Park Hill Doubles Tournament. Check out the school's tab for more details.

Nine-run outburst propels Blue Springs baseball to upset of top-ranked Liberty

Blue Springs' Nick Gulotta hits an RBI double in the nine-run bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday against Liberty.
The Wildcats pulled an upset of the top-ranked Blue Jays, winning 9-5.

Sometimes in baseball one big inning is all it takes.

For Blue Springs Wednesday afternoon, a nine-run fourth inning was all they needed to knock off top-ranked Liberty at home, 9-5, moving them into sole possession of first place in the Suburban Big Six Conference.

“That was the game,” Wildcats head coach Marc Hines said of the big inning. “We got a couple of key hits, some wild pitches and we moved runners. I’m pleased with the way the kids got key hits in key situations.”

That fourth inning did have a little bit of everything, as the Wildcats broke open a game they were trailing 3-0.

“This is a great Liberty team,” Hines said. “I told them in practice that we’ll respect everybody but we won’t fear anyone or back down.”

Not only did Blue Springs not back down, but they kept throwing punches once they got the lead.

Kyle Reed started the inning with a double, followed by Nick Gulotta taking a walk. After a pop up, Corban Hare drove in the first run with a single. Nick Dorman followed with a single, Jordan Bardwell took the inning’s second walk and then Gulotta came home on a wild pitch to make it 3-2.

With runners on second and third, Matt Morrison came to the plate and gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a two-run single to right field. A throwing error on the play brought home a third run for a 5-3 lead.

“Whenever there was a runner on third base I just wanted to get the ball to the outfield and score a run,” Morrison said. “The pitch was there and I took it.”

Blue Springs second baseman Jeremy Lufft throws to first base for an out
during Wednesday's 9-5 win over Liberty.

All of a sudden, the floodgates were open and Blue Springs kept pouring it on, and they got some help from the Blue Jays.

An error and a wild pitch scored the next two runs to make it 7-3 before Gulotta ripped an RBI double and James McKinley drove in the final run with a single.

In the inning, the Wildcats had 13 hitters come to bat, collected seven hits and scored nine runs.

“Hitting is contagious,” Hare said. “It got us pumped up when we scored a run and it rolled from there. The whole team was confident.”

The entire Wildcat team seems to be hitting with more confidence, and not just Wednesday. Ever since the week of the River City Festival, they have gone 7-2 and each night someone new seems to get the clutch hit.

“Our mentality has changed,” Hare said. “We’ve been looking away, not looking to do too much. We’ve been unselfish. We’ve been laying down sacrifice bunts, hitting sacrifice flies, anything to get the run in.”

The pitching has improved as well, and while Hare gave up five runs in a complete game effort, Hines saw what he wanted.

“Corban pitched a great game. That’s the Corban we’ve been waiting for,” he said.

Hare said a big inning for him was the top of the fifth, as he retired Liberty in order after his team spotted him the six-run lead.

“I needed to come out and have a quick inning and get them one, two, three. It was very critical to get three quick outs,” he said. “ … When you have a six-run lead it’s a lot easier to pitch knowing you can give up a few hits and runs and still be fine.”

The win moved the Wildcats to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in conference. The Blue Jays dropped to 19-3 and 6-3, meaning Blue Springs can capture the conference title if they win out in its final two conference games against Blue Springs South and Lee’s Summit North.

Not surprisingly, Hines’ team credits its confidence with a big reason for the turnaround in the last nine games.

“That has a lot to do with it. We’ve beaten some big teams and that’s given us a lot of confidence,” Morrison said.

Hines hopes not too much heading into Friday’s rematch against South.

“They’re confident but they can’t let it go to their head,” he said.

Derksen, Sanders lead Blue Springs South boys golf team into state tournament

The Blue Springs South boys golf team looked more like the team it has all season Wednesday in the Class 4, Sectional 4 Tournament at Winter Stone Golf Course shooting a 307, good for second place and a spot in the state tournament.

The Jaguars shot a 323 last week at districts, so head coach Mike McGown was pleased to see his team return to form.

“It’s starting to come to life a little bit. Your golf game is always a work in progress,” he said. “There’s always some tinkering that has to be going on. We’re trying to continue to improve.”

J.P. Derksen and Blair Sanders picked up where they left off last week, each shooting a one-over 73 to lead the way.

Derksen has been one of the teams leaders all season – “they’ve learned to lean on him a little bit,” McGown said – while Sanders seems to be peaking at the right time.

“He’s turned it on. We’re not sure if it’s the burritos or the tacos, so we’ll keep feeding him both as long as he keeps shooting good numbers,” McGown said of the teams tradition of eating at the Mexican restaurant Pancho’s after tournaments.

Rounding out the scoring for the Jaguars was Blake Windsor with a 79 and Zack Kurth with an 82. Joe Hanes shot an 85 and will join the team at state.

The two-day state tournament begins May 14 at Shiloh Ridge Golf Course in Bolivar, and McGown said the preparation would be the same as it was for today’s tournament, which included a lot of work on the range to go along with lots of chipping and putting.

“The only actual practice (before sectionals) was the practice round at Winter Stone. We’ll do the same thing for state,” he said. “I’m not a huge believer in go play nine (holes), go play nine, go play nine. We constantly need to focus on what we need to do to improve our game.

“We’ll start building confidence in our swing and when we build confidence on the range it goes over to the course.”

Three Blue Springs golfers played Wednesday as well, but none were able to qualify for the state tournament.

Christian Balmer had the low score for the Wildcats, firing an 88. Josh Whitt shot a 99 and Taylor Schick came in with a 103.

“Christian played OK and had a couple of bad holes,” Wildcats head coach Tom Round said. “The other guys didn’t play real well but it was a good accomplishment for them to get there.”

This was the first time any of the three had played in the sectional tournament, which are 18 of the most pressure-packed holes of the season according to Round.

“There’s more pressure in this one then there is a week and a half from now in the state tournament,” he said.

Round said despite the team’s scores not dropping to the level he was hoping, he still saw improvement and knows those scores will eventually drop.

“ … Your skill set gets better but your scores don’t really improve, and then all of a sudden your skills stay the same but your scores improve because you understand what you’re doing,” he said. “It will seem like overnight one day and they’ll go from 88 to 81 or 82.” 

Daily Scores

It was a light day of action in area, as the Blue Springs girls soccer team had the only other game today. While they didn't put together their best effort, they still managed a 3-1 win over Pembroke Hill. Check the Blue Springs tab for more on the.

Also, pictures are now posted from tonight's Blue Springs South-Blue Springs tennis match with the story below.

Shorthanded Blue Springs South boys tennis team edges Blue Springs for conference title

Blue Springs South's Lake Kinzel hits a forehand during a doubles match
with partner John Duffey against Blue Springs Tuesday. The South duo
won the match, while the team won 6-3 to claim the conference title.

Sheri Rehmer had a smile on her face now, after the Blue Springs South boys tennis coach had watched her team win the Suburban Big Six Conference title outright with a 6-3 win over Blue Springs Tuesday.

But just a few hours earlier Rehmer was asking herself a simple question in which she hoped didn’t have an answer.

“What else could happen?” she said.

Rehmer was referring to the laundry list of things that seemed to be going wrong for her Jaguars prior and during the match against the cross-town rival Wildcats.

It started with No. 1 player Chris Hammond not coming to school and sitting out the match with an illness, forcing everyone to move up a spot and putting JV player John Duffey into the rotation.

Next was Alec Barber, also sick, who was gutting out his match with Blue Springs’ Dan Noud into a third set when cramps took over his leg. After a long delay, he tried to continue but eventually retired due to the pain. With singles tied at 3-all, Rehmer had to go to a pair of JV players in doubles – Jose Garchitorena and Lake Kinzel – with Garchitorena having to step in at No. 1 doubles with Paul Province.

“Everyone had to move up a spot. That was a little scary,” Province said. “ … Nothing was holding us back.”

Blue Springs South's Paul Province pumps his fist after
him and fill-in doubles partner Jose Garchitorena won
in the No. 1 spot against Blue Springs.

South senior Alex Martin slams home
a volley in his doubles match with
his brother Jared. The two had the
match-clinching win.

South stayed poised, calm and collected and finished the conference season undefeated at 5-0 by sweeping all three doubles matches.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team. The guys that pulled up to play were awesome,” Rehmer said. “To sweep them in doubles is a great feeling for the guys.”

Added Garchitorena, “I’m on top of the world right now.”

The first doubles win to give South a 4-3 lead came from Kinzel and Duffey, as they cruised, 6-4, 6-1, against Blue Springs’ Chad Stohlman and Ashton Rhodes, a team that has been solid all year.

The other two matches were both roller coaster rides.

South’s Alex and Jared Martin won the first set against Noud and Andy Anderson 6-3 but couldn’t keep it going in set two, falling 1-6. The opposite was true for Province and Garchitorena against Tyler Casey and Max Martell, as they dropped the first set 3-6 before scratching back into the match in set two, 6-4.

Blue Springs' Dan Noud hits a forehand in his singles match against
South's Alec Barber. Noud won when Barber had to retire in the third set.

“We were just saying that it was a new set, that anything can happen,” Jared Martin said of their match. “We had to take it one point at a time. Once we got a few points to get the lead there was no looking back. We had to push harder.”

And they didn’t look back, winning the set 6-2.

“It felt really great,” Jared said. “That was to win it, and especially to do it against Blue Springs makes it more sweet to clinch conference.”

“We had the momentum shift,” added Wildcats head coach Jody McClain. “We should have won in the third set because we had the momentum after the second set. We need to carry that over. When you’re up you have to close it out.”

Blue Springs' Andy Anderson hits a forehand in his
doubles match Tuesday.

Jared and Alex ended up with the match-clinching victory, but before that was over, Province and Garchitorena were fired up on their court, using the momentum they had just gained from set two to win the third set 6-4.

“I called it riding the shock wave,” Garchitorena said with a smile. “I just wanted to do whatever I could. I didn’t expect much out of myself, but I had to step up. Paul was there to help.”

As the match went on, it became clear the two were getting more comfortable together on the court.

“Jose just need a little confidence,” added Rehmer. “Paul was a great partner for him. Paul took over at the net. He was like the Terminator.”

Both coaches agreed that each doubles match was won or lost at the net, something McClain has been harping on her team all season.

“It was a big difference. You have to make shots at the net,” McClain said. “They’re there but you have to execute.”

Blue Springs No. 2 singles player Max
Martell hits an overhead smash in his
doubles match with partner Tyler
Casey.

“Alex and Jared got in a groove. They’ve improved their net play a lot over last year,” Rehmer said. “Sometimes angles are more important than power. Net play is crucial.”

Martell (6-1, 7-5), Noud (3-6, 7-6 (7-4) 2-1 – retire) and Rhodes (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) all won singles matches for the Wildcats, who fell to 2-3 in conference play in what was their final match before districts begin Monday.

“In singles we fought. We did make it competitive,” McClain said. “We just need to pull more doubles matches out.”

As for the Jaguars, while they returned their entire team from a season ago, this title had a little different feel with the way it was won.

“There are no guarantees. Liberty has kids that play year-round and they were deep last year,” Rehmer said of the conference season. “I always talk about how it’s not just about your Nos. 1-3. It takes everybody. It’s nice to see all the guys pick that up.”