Hackworth earns early bragging rights over Jackson alums in Catfish-Hoots rivalry

O'Fallon Hoots outfielder Braden Hackworth follows through on a hit against the Cape Catfish on Saturday, June 8, at Capaha Field.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Eight Jackson High School baseball alums were on the field when the O'Fallon Hoots and Cape Catfish clashed for the first of a seven-game rivalry series on Saturday, June 8, at Capaha Field.

Only one of them was with the away team.

Braden Hackworth went 2-for-5 with an RBI and led off the Hoots' three-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Catfish 6-5.

"The funny thing is we never lost a game at Capaha," Hackworth said. "Going into those later innings, I was telling Henley [Parker] when I was going to second (base), 'I never lost a game here.'"

The MRV Banks Show Me Slugfest is a seven-game series throughout the summer between the Prospect League's only two Missouri teams. The two teams play again on Sunday at O'Fallon, and the first team to four at the end of the season will win a trophy.

It means a little extra for Hackworth, who is competing against many of his former teammates from when they brought Jackson HS to its first-ever state final four a year ago.

"You always got to play with a chip on your shoulder no matter who it is," Hackworth said. "I got guys over there that I played with for 10 years now. When you step between the lines, it's a different type of feeling when you're playing guys that you're close to like that. It's a lot of fun."

Hackworth redshirted his freshman season at St. Louis and had to quickly make up for not seeing live pitching for a year when the Prospect League season started. So far, he's batting .333 with a .881 OPS, one home run and eight RBIs.

Hackworth has a one-word motto to explain his success, "consistency."

"I feel like my whole life is consistent," Hackworth said. "I feel like I do things to prepare my body and prepare my mind to get ready on the baseball field a lot better now that I did because I was never locked in. Now I'm playing every day so I gotta be ready. I got to prepare for this season coming up because you never know what's going to happen."

The Catfish had a 3-0 lead entering the sixth inning. They gave up a run on a passed ball but added two more runs to lead 5-1 entering the seventh inning.

The Hoots truly started the comeback in the seventh when Hackworth drove in a run on a single to right field. It was the first of five unanswered runs.

The Hoots added another run in the eighth and ninth innings due to the Catfish's defensive miscues. They tied the game 5-5 on a sacrifice fly by Bryson Lofton before a solo home run by Will Briggs finally put them ahead.

Catfish reliever Arlon Butts was tagged for the loss after blowing the save opportunity in the ninth.

Markell Dixon got the win for the Hoots after holding the Catfish scoreless for two innings.