Bluebirds anticipate better defense

Don’t let Cole Camp’s 17-7 win over Lincoln in the Class 2, District 14, baseball championship game fool you.

Despite winning on the mercy rule, the Bluebirds appeared beatable, committing five errors in that game, a statistic that concerns coach Todd Rusk.

“We were lucky,” Rusk said. “They didn’t really hurt us except in that one inning.”

Lincoln scored six runs in the second inning with the help of an error and a wild pitch to erase a 5-0 deficit.

Cole Camp scored eight the bottom of the second to take control.

The Bluebirds spent more than an hour working on defense on Friday, according to Rusk whose team will host El Dorado Springs at 5:30 p.m. today in a sectional playoff.

The Bulldogs bring a 13-8 record into today’s matchup and have won 10 of their previous 13 games.

They beat Stockton 7-6 in the District 13 championship game Tuesday at Ash Grove. They scored the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh after trailing 6-3 after 5 1/2 innings.

“Like I told the team, they’re one of 16 teams left. There’s not a slouch among them,” Rusk said. “They’re kind of like us. They go three deep on the mound, and their top four or five can hit.”

El Dorado Springs features a deep pitching staff. Senior Steven Caudill (4-2), sophomore Trevor Quinlan (4-2) and senior Alex Boonyakiti (4-3) lead the staff.

Quinlan leads the team with a 1.39 ERA, pitching a team-high 40 1/3 innings, according to the team’s Web site. Caudill has a club-best 51 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched.

The Bulldogs average 6.48 runs per game and feature two regulars who are batting above .400 and seven hitting .300 or better.

Caudill is batting a team-high .485, and Boonyakiti is hitting .431.

Boonyakiti leads El Dorado Springs with seven doubles and 17 stolen bases. Caudill has a club-best three homers.

Freshman Tyler Cantrell leads the team with 22 RBIs and four triples. Senior Corey Ketchum leads the Bulldogs with 19 runs scored.

While the Bulldogs’ offense has been solid, Cole Camp’s has been even more impressive, averaging 10.13 runs a game.

The Bluebirds (14-2) haven’t been shut out this season, while El Dorado Springs has been blanked twice.

Garrett Gilbert has been the Bluebirds’ top hitter. He is hitting a team-high .608 with 10 extra-base hits including one homer, 17 RBIs, a club-best 39 runs scored and a team-high 25 stolen bases.

Trenton Miller and Tyler Rusk are hitting better than .500. Miller is hitting .595. Rusk is batting .519 with a team-high nine home runs.

Corey Vance gives the Bluebirds a fourth player batting over .400. His average is .438, and he has a team-high 29 RBIs.

Gilbert leads the Bluebirds’ pitching staff. The junior, who is today’s scheduled starter, is 5-0 with two saves.

His ERA is 1.93. He has allowed 25 hits in a club-best 29 innings. He has 35 strikeouts and 17 walks.

Caleb Eckhoff (3-0, 3.09 ERA), Andrew Yeager (2-0, 0.78), Ron Herdman (2-1, 1.56) and Corey Vance (1-0, 3.20) give Cole Camp added depth.

Rusk said he wouldn’t be afraid to turn any of those pitchers loose in a big game.
 
“We can throw all kinds of stuff at them,” the coach said.