South rises

Kellen Bartlett didn’t have a 94-mph fastball.
The Blue Springs South lefty couldn’t snap a curveball like it had just rolled off a table top.
In fact, his was a little bit wild, and it wasn’t sure if every pitch was going to wind up in catcher Stuart Pudenz’s glove.
But when he needed to make the big pitch, he dug deep within himself and found a way to throw it.
“It wasn’t my best outing,” Bartlett said Wednesday afternoon at Rockhurst High School, “but I’ll take it.”
So will his Jaguar teammates as Bartlett turned the Class 4 District 14 championship game into his own personal showcase.
Not only was he the winning pitcher, he stroked a two-strike fastball for the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead the Jaguars to a 4-1 victory and a berth in the state playoffs.
South will play host to Lee’s Summit next Tuesday in sectional action at a time to be determined.
How gritty and determined was Bartlett (6-2) in the biggest game of his life?
The host Hawklets had their leadoff man on base in three innings, and their second batter reached base in the other three. Twice Bartlett stranded the go-ahead run on third base with less than two outs.
“I was so happy Kellen didn’t throw a ‘Kellen inning,’ in the seventh,” a grinning coach Richard Wood said. “Instead of throwing about 38 pitches and getting out of a jam with a runner on third base, he gets their top three batters out 1-2-3. We all enjoyed that.”
In a more serious vein, Wood added, “He’s one of the great competitors in the history of this school. He didn’t throw a great game – they had runners all over the place. But when he needed an out, he got it.”
The Hawklets scored their lone run in the top of the first inning when leadoff man John Calhoun singled and went to second following a Nate Goodwin walk. Frank Saladino then collected an RBI single.
“I was mad at myself that first inning,” said Bartlett, who tied his own single-season record for the most wins in a season (one he shares with Jeremy Biggar), “because I couldn’t figure out the umpire’s strike zone.
“I didn’t figure it out the entire game. I think that’s why so many guys reached base.
“I didn’t pitch that well, and I know I’m always good for a good quote. So please quote me as saying this was a team win. The guys played great behind me and got on base in the seventh to give me the chance to drive them home.”
The Jaguars (22-3) scored an unearned run off Jake Doller in the second when Blaine Dalton singled and went to second on a throwing error by catcher Albert Selanders.
Corey Scott then hit a sharp ground ball to third, and Dalton distracted Jerry Mancusso as the ball skipped off his glove into left field.
“Genius move by Blaine,” Bartlett said. “That’s what I’m talking about – a team effort.”
The game remained tied 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth when shortstop Riley Reynolds stroked a one-out single.
“We needed a runner, and I was going to do everything I could to get on base,” Reynolds said. “Then (No. 2 hitter) Ross Taylor works (Doller) for a walk. That was as big as my hit.”
Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and No. 3 hitter Jeff Lusardi hit a bullet to second baseman Goodwin, who held Reynolds at third.
Clean-up man Dalton was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Bartlett.
“He got me down two strikes, and I was so mad at myself,” Bartlett said. “Since I knew the umpire was all over the place, I didn’t want to let a strike slip by me, so I swung at a fastball that was high and outside and got it past the first baseman.”
That drove home Reynolds and pinch runner Logan Moon.
Robbie Payton followed with an insurance RBI single, which touched off a celebration in the South dugout.
“The biggest hit of my life,” Payton said. “Kellen got a big one, and I wanted to get one too.”
As the inning progressed, Wood said a player asked him, “Is Kellen going to pitch the seventh?”
“I knew he’d thrown a lot of pitches, but it was Kellen’s game,” Wood said. “When I told the player Kellen was going to pitch, he said, ‘Yeah! We all want him to go back out there.’ ”
Two long fly-ball outs and a weak grounder to Taylor at first ended the game.
“We’re on a good roll,” said Bartlett, who will play Division I football at Utah State. “No one wants this season to end. You could tell that by the way we came to play today.”