By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
Since the calendar turned to April, Junction City has been on a roll.
Winners of 10 straight games, including a 17-0 win at McCrory in their regular season finale on Tuesday, the Dragons have outscored their opponents by a whopping 114-12 during that stretch.
Now the Dragons are hoping to carry that momentum into the postseason, which begins Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the 8-3A District Tournament against the winner of today’s first-round contest between Drew Central and McGehee.
The Dragons, who enter the postseason at 22-7, are the No. 1 seed for the tournament.
They are also the defending champions and are hosting the event.
“When this time of year comes around and the district tournament starts, that’s a signal hopefully for our guys to really get focused and do what we’ve been doing, just try to do it a little bit better,” said Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett. “Having the district tournament at home is a plus. We’re definitely excited about hosting it.”
After opening the month with a loss at Crossett, the Dragons have bludgeoned opponents, scoring 15 or more runs five times during their winning streak.
“We’ve been playing pretty well,” Hammett said. “Pitching-wise and defensively, we’re a little bit better than we were earlier in the year. We were pretty hot there for awhile with the sticks with three or four guys.
“We’ve cooled off a little bit here in the last week or so, which is understandable because a couple of them were having an extraordinary couple of weeks hitting the baseball.
“We hope to continue to do what we’ve been doing. We have been playing pretty well lately, but at this time of year, we’re going to take it one game at a time. Anything is possible on any given day in baseball, especially if you’re not ready to play.”
Regardless of who the Dragons face Friday, Hammett is expecting a battle, and he only needs to look back at the semifinals from a year ago as a reminder.
As the 8-3A co-champions, the Dragons fell behind McGehee 5-0 before rallying late to avoid an upset.
Should the Owls advance, there is the possibility the Dragons could see Kaylon Handley, one of the top pitchers in the conference who started last year’s semifinal game.
“The Handley kid for McGehee is definitely one of the top pitchers in our conference,” Hammett said.
“The first time we played them, it was a 4-2 ballgame. They’ve definitely got the guys that can compete with you, and with him on the mound, they’re just a little bit better. They have more confidence.
“The last time we played them, we beat them pretty good, but that goes back to the Handley kid not just pitching, but playing shortstop and hitting for them.
“He had a hamstring injury and didn’t play, and they’re a totally different team without him whether he’s on the mound or not. Drew Central is vastly improved. They’ve got a little bit more pitching than they have had in the past.
“We need to make sure our guys aren’t overlooking anybody and just get ready to play.
“Our thing is it’s not who we play, it’s how we play. That’s how we approach it. Hopefully, we’ll do what we need to do and be prepared.
“It’s definitely a big game. On paper, you want to try to get the one seed to play the four seed from the other half. The other half is pretty tough.
“Whoever you play in the first game of the regional tournament, you’ve got to play that day. You’ve got to be better than the other team. Hopefully, we will be no matter who it is.”
During the Dragons’ winning streak, Brock McGoogan has been on a tear of epic proportions.
Over his last eight games, McGoogan has hit six home runs while driving in 28 runs.
Against the Jaguars Tuesday, McGoogan had a pair of singles and drove in three runs.
“Before he got hot, he was in a slump. He just wasn’t seeing the ball very well and squaring it up,” Hammett said.
“I noticed right before the Smackover game, he had changed bats, and in batting practice, he had one of his better days in a while. Then he used that bat in the Smackover game, and it just carried over.
“That confidence after he got that first hit gave him that mental edge and got him going.
“To hit six home runs and six ballgames, we’ve never had anybody do that. He’s still hitting the ball.
“Our thing with all of them is we want to square it up and try to hit it hard, and if it goes out, it goes out.
“It was definitely was one of the hottest streaks I’ve seen a guy get on as far as hitting the longball. Hopefully, he can continue to square it up and hit it hard for us.”
Junction City also got major contributions from Gabe Richard and Tanner McLelland in Tuesday’s win at McCrory.
Richard had two singles and drove in four runs, while McLelland had a double, a single and three RBIs.
If the Dragons are to repeat as district tournament champions, Hammett said it starts with pitching and defense.
“For us to be successful, we’ve got to have good pitching and throw strikes. We’ve got to play defense and make the routine plays. We’ve got to be able to get some big hits and also be able to bunt the ball a little bit,” Hammett said.
“The kids try to keep getting better, and it’s a tribute to them each year. They get ready and seem to play like we need to play. Hopefully, we can continue that streak.”