Bernie expects Senath-Hornersville BB to "do a lot of things right' in C2D1 match-up

Then a freshman, Senath-Hornersville pitcher Chayse Laden throws a pitch during the 2022 MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament against Bernie at Meatte Park in Portageville. Laden is the Lions' top pitcher now and has already beaten the Mules once this spring.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

It remains to be seen whether the Senath-Hornersville High School baseball team can win its first postseason game in six years today, as the Lions face Bernie (17-9) at 1 p.m. in the semifinal round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament. However, one thing will be certain, Senath-Hornersville (11-7) will not wilt in the moment.

“A lot of these guys, who are seniors now,” veteran Senath-Hornersville coach Chris McClain said recently, “have been playing for four years.”

No one understands that more than Mule coach Marcus Massey, whose team has already lost once to the Lions this spring 2-1 in early April.

“(Senath-Hornersville) is really well coached,” Massey said, “and they have a lot of older kids who have been through this.”

The Lions feature seniors Madox Belcher, Christian “Pookie” Garza, Amador Luna, and Jesus “Chewy” Mendoza, as well as juniors Spencer Goff, who hits lead-off, Chayse Laden, and Noah Rhoades.

“They have played a lot of baseball together,” Massey continued. “They’re upperclassmen now, so, they are going to do a lot of things right.”

In that earlier win, Laden was very effective on the mound.

He threw 6 1/3 innings (66 strikes in 106 pitches) and gave up just three hits and one earned run.

“Chayse has been at the top of our staff for the last couple of years,” McClain said. “He has thrown the ball well.”

The Lions have a deep rotation that includes Rhodes, Belcher, and Garza.

“Pookie isn’t a guy who will throw it by you,” McClain said, “but he is a guy who we can rely on to go out there and throw strikes and get people out.”

Senath-Hornersville has lost four of its past six games, but talk about a misleading statistic, that is one.

The Lions fell just 6-4 to a 17-win East Prairie team, twice to Class 2 No. 3-ranked Portageville (5-4 and 4-2), and 1-0 to C2D1 semifinalist Campbell (an 11-win team).

“It’s one of those things where they have been a part of the program for four years,” McClain said, “and they have matured, gotten stronger, and it is kind of a learning process in the way that we like to do things.

“It’s paying off.”

Thursday’s games were to be played at Senath-Hornersville but were moved to Bernie due to rain-soaked fields in Senath. If that is the case again today, the two semifinals (Portageville vs, Campbell at 11 a.m. being the other game) will be played at Bernie.