Hanger, Bulldogs cruise to win

Senior almost hits for cycle as South Callaway stays unbeaten

Knowing he was a triple short of the cycle, Cory Hanger's strategy for his next at-bat was simple.

"One of the kids in the dugout after my (third-inning) homer told me that I needed one more for a triple and I said if I go up there and hit the ball, I'm just going to keep running bases and if I get out, I get out," Hanger said.

He never got the chance to finish off the feat, but South Callaway's senior center fielder did more than his share of damage.

Hanger finished 3-for-3, belted a two-run home run and scored three times as the unbeaten Bulldogs eased past the New Haven Shamrocks 10-0 in five innings on Tuesday.

South Callaway (7-0) racked up 11 hits and produced all of its offense in the first three innings.

"We want to be aggressive on both sides of the plate," Bulldogs head coach Heath Lepper said. "Offensively and defensively, we want to put as much pressure on the other team as we can."

Hanger doubled to left to lead off the bottom of the first for South Callaway. He advanced to third on a passed ball, then sprinted home on senior shortstop Dax Helsel's groundout.

Freshman starter Kaden Helsel followed with an infield single, then proceeded to steal second base. After Helsel swiped third, the throw from New Haven junior catcher Andrew Menke sailed into shallow left field, allowing Helsel to score and extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 2-0.

"We're going to try and run until they prove that they can stop us, then we'll pull back a little bit," Lepper said. "As far as our philosophy offensively, we already have the (base) we're standing on, so we want the next one, so we're going to try anything and everything we can to get the next bag."

Senior third baseman Tyler Adams then singled home sophomore first baseman Graysan Peneston to close out South Callaway's scoring in the first.

Junior right fielder Dillon Stone cracked a one-out single, then stole second to kick off the Bulldogs' five-run second. Hanger legged out a bunt single and advanced to second when New Haven tried to throw out Stone at third.

"I got a little luck out there, but it was a good thing I put it where I did," Hanger said of the hit.

Dax Helsel walked to load the bases and Kaden Helsel drew a free pass, forcing home Stone and stretching South Callaway's margin to 4-0. Senior second baseman Trevor Miller then slapped a one-out double to the warning track to score Hanger and Dax Helsel.

Peneston's RBI groundout to short made it 7-0, while Miller scored when Adams was safe on an infield error to complete the Bulldogs' rampage in the inning.

Hanger's one-out homer over the left-field fence drove in Stone in the third and capped off South Callaway's scoring.

"His contact has been there (all season), but he just hasn't put together an at-bat where he was aggressive enough to hit fastballs on fastball counts to the left side of the field," Lepper said of Hanger. "It was nice to see him go up the middle and to the left, because he's been going predominately to the right."

The onslaught was all the support Kaden Helsel needed to complete a three-hit shutout. He struck out six and walked four in his first varsity start.

Despite the walk total, Helsel rarely found himself in dire straits. After surrendering a one-out double in the fourth, he promptly fanned New Haven designated hitter Kyle Luecke, then induced junior reliever Cameron Pritchett into an inning-ending groundout.

"The biggest thing was he continued to pitch to contact when he needed to pitch to contact, and trusted the defense behind him to make a play," Lepper said.

Stone finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while Miller was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Dax Helsel and Kaden Helsel were both 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Adams and Peneston each finished 1-for-3.

The Bulldogs travel to Russellville for a Show-Me Conference tilt at 5 p.m. Thursday.