By Dana Harding
New Covenant Academy welcomed an all-too familiar foe to the Ozarks for a return match Thursday afternoon.
In June, Bell City downed the Warriors 7-2 to claim its second Class 1 state title in a row.
In the opening match of the U.S. Baseball Showdown, New Covenant experienced a similar fate, falling 8-5 to the Cubs.
Reclassified to Class 2 in the offseason, the Warriors are currently ranked No. 7 in the state, while Bell City is ranked No. 1 in Class 1.
New Covenant found early success and appeared to be headed for a series equalizer; however, a disastrous fourth inning changed the course of the game.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth, Bell City rang up six runs to swing momentum and take the lead..
New Covenant starter Ben Cannefax, solid through the early innings, labored to register outs through a series of miscues.
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In an inning containing an error, two walks, a hit batsman and a pair of singles, Cannefax ended his afternoon giving up back-to-back triples to the potent Cub lineup.
By the time New Covenant got out of the fourth, three pitchers had made appearances on the mound.
As with all small-school programs, Warriors head coach John Hartley constantly juggles his talent in order to deal with the new MSHSAA pitching restrictions. When multiple games are played over the course of a short period, as is the case with this weekend, the restrictions can certainly put a team’s roster depth to the test.
Like other Missouri coaches, Hartley is quickly learning how to adjust to the constant numbers challenge.
“I think [Cannefax] wore down in the fourth,” Hartley said. “It was a very long inning, and we’re in a unique situation where all of our pitchers are in the field. So, warming someone up is a problem. I should have went to C.J. [Fernelius] immediately, because he’s the one guy that is warmed up as the catcher. I didn’t realize it until it was too late, so it was a learning experience for me and for our team.”
While Cannefax faded late, Bell City starter Austin Hicks found his groove as the game wore on. A rocky start laden with several defensive errors allowed New Covenant to gain an early advantage, but Hicks quickly calmed the storm and was solid down the stretch.
In the end, it was his own pitch count that did Hicks in.
Alan Ramsey’s two-out single in the seventh inning sent the Cub right-hander over the 105 pitch limit, and Bell City head coach Justin Simpher was forced to make a change for the final out.
“Austin came out and threw well,” Simpher said. “He got a little fuel in him and got into a groove and, once he gets into that groove, he’s hard to stop. He came out and threw a big game, battled and kept us in it. We used him to the max that we could, obviously.”
While New Covenant’s red-hot, 5-0 start comes to an end, don’t expect Hartley to dwell. Bell City’s pitching staff provided a solid litmus test for the Warriors.
“[Bell City] has two or three good guys, and they know how to play behind them,” Hartley said. “It’s exactly what we wanted from this weekend. There’s not any doubt we got better as a team tonight. I thought it was a good ball game between two small schools. Everything about this game was a learning tool.”
Bell City (6-3) is back in action on Friday with a pair of games. The Cubs face off against Fair Grove and Galena.
New Covenant (5-1) returns on Saturday for two games with Summit Christian Academy (No. 1 in Class 3) and Galena (No. 6 in Class 2).
Bell City – 8, New Covenant Academy – 5
New Covenant 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 — 5
Bell City 0 0 2 6 0 0 x — 8
Hits: Bell City – 8, NCA – 6
Errors: Bell City – 4, NCA – 2
LOB: Bell City – 6, NCA – 4
WP – Austin Hicks (6.67 IP, 10K, 5H, 1BB)
LP – Ben Cannefax (3.67 IP, 3K, 7H, 2BB)
Time of game: 2:04
