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Johnson pitches Oran baseball team past Sikeston 10-2
SIKESTON -- When an impromptu baseball game blossomed on Thursday afternoon between Oran and Sikeston, the Eagles didn't mind taking the 20 minute trek to VFW Memorial Stadium in Sikeston on short notice.
And why not? It gave them a chance to run their winning streak on Sikeston's home field to two.
Layne Johnson pitched a gem on the mound while the rest of the Oran squad made good use of their eight hits during a 10-2 victory over Sikeston.
Oran (10-2) has won the last two contests against the Bulldogs and pushed it's current winning streak to four games. It's also the Eagles' first game in eight days after inclement weather postponed their three previous.
"This definitely helps with the confidence," Johnson said. "We've got Bell City coming up soon and they're pretty tough. Coming up with a win against a Class 4 school, it's pretty big for our confidence... I think we have more focus against teams like Sikeston."
Thursday's game was originally scheduled for May 3. It proved to be a big boost for the Class 1 Oran squad, who routinely stacks its non-conference schedule to include larger schools such as Class 4 Sikeston.
"It's always good to get a win against a quality team," Oran coach Joe Bickings said. "I know they have the conference tournament coming up, but still yet, when you play a larger school, it doesn't matter because we always try to compete. I tell them all the time, I don't care if we're playing the St. Louis Cardinals we're here to compete and win. We were able to do just that and came out with a good win today."
Johnson baffled the Bulldogs lineup before reaching the 105 pitch count limit. The left-handed junior struck out seven on 104 pitches. He gave up two earned runs on six hits and two walks.
"He hasn't been pitching great for us the last few games, but this is probably the best he's thrown," Bickings said. "He was able to get all of his pitches in for strikes. His curveball was working and his changeup looked really good today. He got a few of them jumping out in front on that. It's always good to see that."
The key to Johnson's success was getting ahead early in the count. He threw 18 first-pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced.
"I got the first-pitch strike over and my off-speed was working," Johnson said. "That's big against [Sikeston] because they can hit the ball pretty well... I had a lot of focus on my bullpen session. Me and Clay [Sauceda] really got to work today."
Sikeston (9-3) took one on the chin to the Eagles. The Bulldogs, who averaged 8.8 runs per game before Thursday, were limited to their lowest scoring total so far this season and suffered their first loss since April 4.
"We did not look good today at all," Sikeston coach Brett Kolons said. "Oran played a good ball game, but we let things get away from us that we usually control and we just didn't take care of us today."
And with the SEMO Conference Tournament slated to begin Friday, it could give the third-seeded Bulldogs a wake-up call, according to Kolons.
"It's going to be a gut-check," Kolons said. "But, I have full confidence that the guys will come ready to show up [Friday] and the real Sikeston Bulldogs will show up."
Sikeston planned to test several arms on the mound in preparation for this weekend's conference tournament running out eight pitchers who combined to allow nine earned runs on eight hits and 13 walks.
"We haven't really had a chance to see what we got and maybe extend our bullpen a little bit," Kolons said. "I wanted to see what some guys could do and we were able to see."
Sam Cox got the rare start for Sikeston. The typical outfielder worked out of a jam in the first inning but was bitten by control issues in the second giving up four earned runs on four walks, an infield throwing error and a 2-RBI single from Austin Elfrink.
Cox was the losing pitcher after 1 2/3 innings. He allowed three hits, five walks and struck out one on 53 pitches.
The Eagles added to their lead in the top of the third when Drew Mitchum was hit by a pitch and later scored after a wild pitch found its way to the backstop to make it 5-0 Oran.
The Eagles put the game out of reach in the sixth when control issues once again plagued Sikeston's pitching platoon.
Nate Self gave up five earned runs on six free passes and an infield hit on 42 pitches through 2/3 innings.
With an eight-run lead in his pocket, Johnson looked primed to close out the complete game in the bottom of the seventh but his pitch count ended his run with one out to go.
Drew Reischman, who led the Eagles with a 4 for 4 performance at the plate, finished the job after two batters.
"Johnson's a great pitcher," Kolons said. "He's got a great arm with some secondary stuff and he located well. Behind him they played solid defense. During warmups they threw it around a little bit, but when it came time to play the game they made every play they needed to make."
The Bulldogs got their two runs in the bottom of the fourth after RBI singles from Bryce Bays and Will Gilmer.
Sikeston will take on sixth-seeded Dexter today at 3 p.m., during the first round of the SEMO Conference Tournament. That game will be played at VFW Stadium.
Oran will be on the road again on Tuesday against Kelly at 4:30 p.m.
Oran 041 005 0 -- 10 8 1
Sikeston 000 200 0 -- 2 6 1
WP -- Layne Johnson. LP -- Sam Cox. 2B -- Wyatt Pratt (S). Multiple hitters: Oran -- Drew Reischman 4-4, Austin Elfrink 2-4.