MOKANE, Mo. - Sophomore third baseman Austin Loucks and sophomore shortstop Peyton Leeper combined for five hits and seven runs batted in as the state-ranked Bulldogs punished the Panthers on Monday night.
South Callaway ended the game on the mercy rule when it erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs (2-1) are ranked No. 1 in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association's preseason Class 3 poll.
Loucks went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, four RBI and a run scored as South Callaway amassed nine hits. Leeper finished 2-for-2 with a triple, three RBI and also scored a run.
Freshman right fielder Tyler Lepper was also 1-for-3 with two RBI. Sophomore starter Tyklen Salmons - who threw a one-hit shutout - went 1-for-3 with a double and three runs scored.
"As the game went on, we did what we expect to do, and that's get better with every at-bat," Bulldogs head coach Heath Lepper said. "We just try to put together quality at-bats and put better swings on the ball."
South Callaway grabbed a 1-0 lead on Tyler Lepper's RBI single in the second and tacked on a run in the fourth when Leeper was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Bulldogs then put the game out of reach with their outburst in the eighth, sending 12 batters to the plate. Loucks knocked in two runs with a single, Leeper provided a two-run triple and then Loucks came up again to drive in two with a double.
Salmons needed just 51 pitches in going the distance for the win, striking out two and walking none.
"I love that efficiency," Heath Lepper said. "Tyklen got ahead in the count, kept the ball down and let his defense work behind him."
South Callaway - which took fourth place in Class 3 in 2016 - launched its season Saturday by splitting a pair of home games. Junior starter Kaden Helsel pitched a four-hit shutout in the opener as the Bulldogs blanked North Callaway 3-0. South Callaway was then edged by Class 4 Kirksville 4-3 in the second game as the Tigers prevailed on a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Helsel struck out nine and issued two walks in the complete-game victory over North Callaway. He also played a key role in the bottom of the first as the Bulldogs tallied all three of their runs.
Helsel led off with a double to left and immediately came around to score when Leeper followed with another double to center. Leeper then advanced to third on senior first baseman Graysan Peneston's groundout and scored to make it 2-0 on junior second baseman Dylan Lepper's single to right.
Lepper moved up when Salmons - playing left field - reached on an error and raced home on junior center fielder Landon Horstman's infield single.
Lepper finished 2-for-3 as South Callaway totalled six hits. Helsel, Leeper, Horstman and Loucks were each 1-for-3.
Kirksville put up a run in the bottom of the first to take a quick lead in the second game. The Bulldogs then tied it at 1-all in the top of the second on junior right fielder Josh Johnson's RBI groundout.
South Callaway went in front in the third on Helsel's leadoff homer to center, but the Tigers pulled even at 2-all with a run in the fourth. The Bulldogs regained the lead when Salmons started the sixth with a home run, but Kirksville answered with a two-run shot in its half of the sixth to prevail.
Helsel, Salmons, Leeper, Peneston and Loucks were all 1-for-3 as South Callaway finished with only five hits.
Peneston went the distance in being pinned with the loss. He allowed the Tigers' four runs - three earned - on seven hits and struck out one.
The Bulldogs continue their homestand against Jamestown at 5 p.m. today.
"We've played three quality opponents and I love what I see, just as much in practice as I do in the field (in games)," Heath Lepper said. "This is a great group - they love the game of baseball and they enjoy working at it."