East Knox baseball flips script, wins KMAC championship

What a difference a year makes.

Last season, the East Knox baseball team dropped eight games by one run, including two in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference where they finished third.

This season, the Bulldogs flipped the script, winning four games by one run, including three conference games. That paid off handsomely for the 'Dogs, as they clinched the KMAC title with a 5-0 victory over visiting Mount Gilead on Friday.

“It’s pretty cool. We definitely had our eyes on it for a while,” said East Knox senior Jaxon Lester. “Last year kind of stung. We kind of made that a goal this off season, really grinding towards it. We said one of our goals is ‘outlast.’ Every KMAC game there’s going to be ups and downs and as long as we can outlast teams, we’ll be good.”

“The key for us, honestly, you look at last year, we lost eight games by one run. In the off-season, we talked with the seniors and one of the things they said with the motto we want to outlast teams because they were outlasting us,” said East Knox coach Gage Steinmetz. “You look at this season, we won several KMAC games by one run. I think that’s a testament to them taking that next step as a program and as a team, winning those one-run games. I think that’s what it takes to win the conference.”

The Bulldogs (17-4 overall, 11-1 KMAC) won Friday’s conference clincher with solid pitching and timely hitting.

Caleb Armstrong gave up just one hit on the day, allowing just two Indians to reach third base. He had some control problems early on, hitting four MG batters, but was able to get the key out when he needed. He struck out six Indians on the day.

“Caleb’s a competitor. We usually find a way to win with him on the mound. We’re confident in him, we played good defense behind him,” Steinmetz said. “We felt really good going into it. I’m really proud of him, working through that. Hitting batters, some adversity there, and having a really good game so I’m really happy for him.”

Offensively, he got some help from pretty much the whole lineup. Seven players had hits with the team getting 12 on the night off Indians’ pitcher Cole Fricke.

Caden Ridenour got EK on the board first, doubling home Colton Armstrong in the first inning. Ridenour got the Bulldogs started in the third, getting a leadoff single, then scoring on an Indian error. Jesse Dudgeon drove in another run and EK led 3-0.

A balk and a sacrifice fly added two more runs in the fifth for East Knox.

Ridenour finished the day with a double and two singles, while Dakota Cooper had three singles. Dudgeon and Colton Armstrong each had two singles, and Zayne Grennell and Caleb Armstrong both had singles.

The conference-clinching win may have come on Friday, but according to Grennell, it all started in the off-season with hard work and a renewed focus on the fundamentals.

“It feels great (winning the conference). I’ve now done it twice in my high school career,” said the senior centerfielder. “(We have) taken care of the baseball, focused on our swings and just played together better than we did last year. We started back in November, meeting once a week. We spent a lot of time together and it paid off.”

The work isn’t complete, though, for East Knox, as the 'Dogs still have two games with rival Danville this week (Tuesday and Wednesday). The players want to take care of their rival and head into the post-season on a high note.

“Obviously, the next two games really matter. You’ve got the rivalry aspect of it, but it’s nice to have this part of it wrapped up and now we can go into it just wanting to win the rivalry game,” Steinmetz said. “I’m just so proud and happy for the kids. They’ve worked their tails off this year. (They) went through the highs and lows of the season and to come out on top, it’s a testament to their work ethic, their energy and their drive to be the best they can be. I’m just happy for the kids.”