May 26, 2007 01:31 am
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By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
MILLER, Mo. — Top-ranked Stoutland showed its poise and resiliency in knocking off pesky Miller 10-4 in the quarterfinal round of the MSHSAA Class 1 baseball playoffs on Friday.
The Tigers rallied from a 4-2 deficit for a tie in the third inning and then struck for six runs in the sixth to oust the Cardinals and sophomore pitching standout Tyler Abma.
Stoutland had a stalwart of its own on the mound in junior right-hander Cory Kyle.
The Tigers (22-1), who placed second in 2006, will take on Alma Santa Fe, a 7-6 winner against Archie, in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Meador Park in Springfield.
The Cardinals, who don’t have a senior on their roster, finished 17-7 and were denied their second semifinal appearance after placing fourth in 1996.
Stoutland, the home team on the scoreboard, paraded 10 batters to the plate during the telling sixth. Daniel Hernandez rapped a two-run double and Josh White stroked a two-run single to cap the uprising against Abma and two relievers.
Hernandez, a junior, finished with two hits and four RBI.
The right-handed Abma, needing seven strikeouts to tie the Missouri single-season record, notched 12 to reach 177 and allowed just four hits. But Abma walked seven and hit a batter.
“Tyler wasn’t close to being himself,” Miller coach Matt Walters said. “He knew it early, too. I told him to gut it out and grind it out.
“Tyler said he didn’t have any pop. He didn’t feel normal. He had a similar game this year against Mount Vernon when he walked 10.”
The Cardinals were shaky in the beginning as the Tigers scored twice in the first.
“Early, we weren’t really strong defensively,” Walters said. “We were very nervous.”
But the Cardinals came alive at the plate in the third with the help of the Stoutland defense to take a short-lived 4-2 lead.
Miller’s Dakota Eaton doubled but was trapped off second on Derek Hohenfeldt’s bunt. Eaton eluded the tag at second, though, and with one out Grant Jester’s bunt was misplayed. That scored a run and left runners at the corners.
Kyle secured the second out at the plate on a fielder’s choice before Jeremy Gulick drilled a three-run homer to left-center.
But the Tigers bounced back in the bottom of the inning on two walks, an intentional pass and Hernandez’ two-run single.
Kyle (6-0) permitted four hits — Josh Harlow’s double and Jester’s single were the other Miller hits — struck out 10 and walked one.
Kyle finished with a flourish — four straight strikeouts. Throw in a double play after Jester’s single and Kyle faced the minimum nine batters the final three innings.
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