No. 9 Bulldogs exploit Southern Boone miscues

MOKANE, Mo. — The South Callaway Bulldogs ganged up on Southern Boone’s generosity.

South Callaway capitalized on three errors and two wild pitches by Southern Boone in the bottom of the sixth inning as the state-ranked Bulldogs rallied for four runs to knock off the Eagles in a 7-4 non-conference win Friday night.

Ranked No. 9 in Class 3, South Callaway (15-2) got back on track after having its 13-game winning streak snapped in a 2-0 loss at Father Tolton on Thursday night.

“Any time you face two good teams back-to-back and lose that first one, it’s important to win the second,” Bulldogs head coach Heath Lepper said. “It was nice to have the kids regroup.

“We made some mistakes (Friday night), but teammates pick teammates up. That’s a sign of a good ballclub.”

With South Callaway trailing 4-3, junior starter Graysan Peneston was safe on an error leading off the Bulldogs’ sixth and was replaced by sophomore courtesy runner Dalton Stone. Sophomore second baseman Dylan Lepper reached on another Southern Boone error, with Stone advancing to second.

Dalton Stone then stole third and scored to tie the game, with Lepper going to second, when senior right fielder Dillon Stone was safe on the Eagles’ third error of the inning. Senior left fielder Ryan Edler followed with a single to left to load the bases.

With sophomore third baseman Landon Horstman at the plate, Lepper bolted home on a wild pitch to put South Callaway in front 5-4. Dalton Stone and Edler advanced on the play, then Stone scored on another wild pitch.

Edler reached third on the play and eventually scored the Bulldogs’ last run of the inning when freshman designated hitter Tyklen Salmons grounded out to third with one out.

“We didn’t get down and continued to battle back,” Heath Lepper said. “We didn’t panic (in the sixth). The guys went up there and took it one pitch at a time, did their job and put the pressure back on the defense.”

Southern Boone broke on top with two runs in the top of the first, but South Callaway promptly put up a pair of runs in its half of the inning to pull even. Peneston was hit by a pitch with two outs and Dalton Stone was brought in to run for him.

Lepper then hammered a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left for a two-run home run to tie the game. The Eagles came back with single runs in the third and fourth to take a 4-2 lead, but the Bulldogs countered with a run in their half of the fourth to draw closer.

Lepper was involved again, reaching on an error to start the inning. He moved up on Dillon Stone’s groundout to second, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Edler’s single to right.

Edler finished 2-for-3 and Lepper and Salmons were both 1-for-3 as South Callaway was limited to four hits.

“We hit a lot of balls hard, but they made some plays to take hits away,” Heath Lepper said. “Southern Boone has one of the better shortstops in the area.”

Peneston threw a complete game to earn the win, surrendering four runs — two earned — on seven hits. He struck out three and issued a walk.

“Graysan made pitches when he had to,” Lepper said. “He didn’t get rattled … and got out of some jams.”

The Bulldogs start the week with a pair of critical Show-Me Conference home games. South Callaway clashes with Eugene on Monday, then squares off against Fatima — ranked No. 3 in Class 3 — on Tuesday. Both contests start at 5 p.m.