By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Senior pitcher Jackson Kanacksy tossed a no-hitter to go with 12 hits from the Benton offense and the Cardinals routed St. Michael the Archangel, 16-0, in three innings in Class 4 state quarterfinals at the MWSU Spring Sports Complex on Thursday.
Benton (31-3), winners of 20 straight games, has reached the Final Four in baseball for the first time since 2007.
The Cardinals wasted no time, scoring two runs in the first and then seven runs in both the second and third innings.
Senior Myles Bachali and junior Chris Coy each scored three runs in the victory. Treigh Nowak, Bryson Brown and Jaxon Rich each scored twice.
The Cardinals benefitted from five St. Michael errors.
Kanacsky, meanwhile, kept the Guardians (16-13) silent on offense, tossing a no-hitter and striking out six of his 11 batters faced. St. Michael had only two base runners all game.
Benton advances to the Class 4 state semifinals, where they’ll face MICDS (18-6) on Wednesday, May 29 at 10 a.m. at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark.
The Class 4 state title game is Thursday, May 30 at 10 a.m. with the third place game set for the same day at 1 p.m.
Johnny Coy, Chris Coy interview
Full game broadcast
Mid-Buchanan upsets Lone Jack, reaches first ever Final Four
Starting pitcher Will Archer tossed a gem and Mid-Buchanan baseball (21-8) is Final Four bound for the first time ever with a 6-0 win over No. 2 Lone Jack (30-2) in Faucett Thursday.
The Mules had won 15 straight games coming in.
The Dragons have now won four straight and advance to the Class 3 Final Four, which is also at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark.
Mid-Buchanan will play West County (22-6) in state semifinals on Wednesday, May 29 at 4 p.m.
The Class 3 state title game is set for Thursday, May 30 at 7 p.m. with the third place game at 4 p.m. on May 30 as well.
All Mid-Buchanan and Benton games in Ozark will be broadcast either on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) OR on StJosephPost.com. Stay tuned for further details on broadcast information.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
