Maryville baseball prepares for familiar foes

Maryville baseball was looking for an opportunity to bounce back after a 7-1 loss to St. Joseph-Benton March 27 in St. Joseph. The Spoofhounds got exactly that in their 21-0 blowout over South Harrison March 28 in Bethany, Missouri.

Against the Cardinals on Monday, Maryville totaled three hits, but the Spoofhounds exploded for 17 combined hits in their Tuesday evening contest with the Bulldogs. Coach Hans Plackemeier said the shutout win was exactly what he wanted to see.

“The guys followed our approach plan to a T, and they sacrificed their bodies — I mean, we got hit by I don’t know how many pitches; quite a few,” Plackemeier said. “They did everything we asked them to do to get the extra base to be a good teammate.”

It was a balanced effort for Maryville (3-1) against South Harrison (1-2). Offensively, the 17 hits and 21 runs are both the highest amounts in a single game for the Spoofhounds through four contests this season.

On defense, junior righthanded pitcher Boston Hageman played the entire game and threw 11 strikeouts — the highest amount by a Spoofhound this season so far. Additionally, Maryville allowed only one hit for the second time of the year.

“Boston did great,” Plackemeier said. “He filled up the zone. … But that’s exactly what we’re wanting our pitchers to do, and he did it perfectly.”

Senior catcher Adam Patton, with a three-run shot over the left field fence in the top of the fourth inning, was one of the Spoofhounds’ key contributors to the win. He totaled two hits against the Bulldogs and said he had to congratulate sophomore infielder Pey-

Runs

ton McCollum and Hageman on their home runs.

“Seeing the bat hit the ball and go over the fence really builds confidence,” Patton said. “Just hope that the rest of the year goes about the same for me.”

Awaiting Maryville on the schedule next is LafayetteSt. Joseph (2-2). The Spoofhounds and Fighting Irish have met four times since May 2019, and Maryville has lost each meeting.

Plackemeier, who took over the program in summer 2020, has been the coach for three of those losses to Lafayette. He said he expects a tough matchup. Patton said he hopes the

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team maintains its energy from the win against South Harrison.

“I’m really excited,” Patton said. “The season just started, so hopefully we can use the confidence and the energy we got (against the Bulldogs) and use it to hopefully get a win and carry on to the next game.”

“Lafayette’s a great team,” Plackemeier said. “They’re always going to hit, they’ll make the plays, you just gotta beat them. They won’t let you win. You’re gonna have to take it from them.”

After the game with the Fighting Irish, the Spoofhounds will participate in their first tournament of the season in the Plattsburg Tournament April 1 in Plattsburg, Missouri.

Following the tournament, Maryville will return home April 3 to play the 2021 Class 2 state runner-up, East Buchanan (5-0). The Spoofhounds lost 10-0 to East Buchanan last season. Plackemeier said his athletes have experience with playing multiple different sports, so he doesn’t need to help them focus in important games.

“Most of, if not all, our guys play more than one sport, so they’re used to the situation,” Plackemeier said. “They know what it’s like. … They know how to play. They’re ready.”