IBERIA – The Fredericktown Freddies came into this week knowing they’d need to be sharp.
They were the state’s top-ranked Division III team, carrying an undefeated record through the first month of regular season play. But they were set to square off twice against a formidable foe – the Northmor Golden Knights, who had lost just once and were ranked seventh in the state in Division IV.
The Freddies were a game up on the Golden Knights in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference standings. And with a week left in league play, this series would go a long way in determining this year’s champion.
Senior Brady Lester said they knew well what was at stake. They’d been here before, and they understood the gravity of the situation.
And when the time came, Fredericktown didn’t flinch.
The Freddies (15-0, 9-0 KMAC) swept the Golden Knights (11-3, 7-3), winning 1-0 on Monday and 4-1 on Wednesday, and clinching their fifth straight KMAC title in the process.
They now hold a two-and-a-half game lead over Northmor and East Knox (10-4, 7-3), which they also swept, in the conference standings – meaning even if they lost their last three games, and those schools won their last two, the Freddies would still win the conference outright.
“We knew that we’re not gonna walk in and run this thing. …” Lester said of the KMAC. “We put in the hard work at practices, and when we’re not practicing, regardless, we’ll still come in to hit, come in early.
“We put in the work for it. We knew we weren’t just going to walk in and grab it.”
1. Fredericktown** (9-0)
3. Northmor (7-3)
3. East Knox (7-3)
4. Cardington (4-4)
5. Mount Gilead (3-6)
6. Danville (2-8)
7. Centerburg (1-9)
**Conference champions
Fredericktown has won all five KMAC baseball titles, dating back to the league’s inception in 2017. The Freddies shared the first three conference titles with Highland, then claimed last year’s championship outright, finishing a game ahead of second-place Centerburg.
This year’s title came as a result of stellar pitching, sound defense and timely hitting – all of which were on display this week against Northmor. Fredericktown head coach Ryan Hathaway said Wednesday he was proud of this group for continuing the streak and carrying the torch forward.
“It’s something that we want to continue to build and pass on to the next class, and just have that standard, as far as what the expectation is. I think it’s important,” Hathaway said of winning the conference.
“That kind of motivation, I think, is good for the kids – that they show up and they know, you know, this is kind of the expectation and the way they’ve gotta play and conduct themselves. And so these guys have done a good job of setting that standard, and just passing it along to the next class is important.”
A DEFENSIVE SHOWDOWN: The Freddies began their championship-clinching week with a defensive masterpiece Monday at home.
Senior Ben Mast took the mound and baffled Northmor, striking out eight batters and walking one in a one-hit, complete-game performance. The defense behind him did its part as well, as a diving catch from left-fielder Evan Hogg in the fifth inning and two clutch stops from third-baseman Luke Bean in the seventh inning helped keep the Golden Knights off the scoreboard.
“I think he mixed it up well,” Northmor head coach Buck Workman said of Mast. “I mean, he got that fastball by us. His fastball is just good enough to where I think we just were a little tardy a lot of times.
“And when we did put the ball in play, they made some nice plays. I mean, they’re a good, fundamental team. They’re not ranked No. 1 in the state on accident. They make plays. And that’s why, with their pitching depth and what they have one-through-nine defensively – I mean, I’m proud of the effort, but we just didn’t hit enough. It’s as simple as that.”
Mast and the Freddies’ defense never let Northmor get a runner past second base Monday. The senior said afterwards that confidence fueled the performance.
“We know they’re pretty aggressive at the plate, so I really had to dial in. The first few innings, I wasn’t hitting my spots. I was getting behind in the count. But I have a great defense behind me that has confidence in me, and on the mound, that kind of gives me confidence. The coaches all have confidence in me,” Mast said.
“Every time I step on the mound, I have a lot of confidence and I feel like I can work any pitch I want, any spot I want.”
And Fredericktown mustered just enough offense to get the win. Senior Kaid Carpenter doubled to left field in the bottom of the third inning, bringing Lester home from second and giving the Freddies a 1-0 lead, which they would hold onto the rest of the night.
“We toughed through it a little bit with the cold,” Hathaway said afterwards. “I thought some of our at-bats could have been better as we went through, but we found a way to get one. I just thought we had guys in scoring position, but we just couldn’t get a hit when we needed it.
“And that’s just something we’ve gotta continue to work on as a team. When you get runners in scoring position, we’ve gotta be putting the ball in play and keeping it out of the air, especially the infield pop-ups that we were getting.
“But I think it’ll happen. I think their guy’s a good pitcher – Grant Bentley’s a good pitcher – and he kept us off-balance, and he did a really good job tonight, too.”
The Freddies now stood one win away from clinching their fifth straight conference title. They knew they’d need to get their bats going to do it – and after falling behind early Wednesday, that’s exactly what would happen.
A COMEBACK CLINCHER: Northmor stuck first on Wednesday in Iberia.
Drew Hammond hammered a double to the left field fence, scoring Bentley from second and giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
But the Freddies were not deterred.
After leaving runners stranded in scoring position the first two innings, Fredericktown got on the scoreboard in the third. Hogg sent a hard grounder to the shortstop, scoring Lester from third to tie the game.
And the Freddies weren’t done yet. Carpenter reached base on an errant throw to first, and he moved to third on a pick-off attempt that sailed over the first-baseman’s head. He scored moments later on a single from senior Xavier Mullins, giving Fredericktown a 2-1 lead.
The Freddies tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh. Hogg sent a shot into right field, over the first-baseman’s head, scoring Lester from second. The senior scored himself moments later, sliding home from third after completing a successful double-steal with Bean, who took second.
“We made a couple mistakes we don’t normally make, and you give a team like them a little crack like that, and they’re gonna take advantage of it,” Workman said afterwards. “They can start running the bases and putting pressure on you, and getting a run here and a run there. And it’s hard to come back when you’ve got Kaid on the mound. You can’t give up any freebies.”
As Fredericktown came to life offensively, Carpenter settled in. The Mount Vernon Nazarene University commit did not allow a hit after Hammond’s first-inning RBI double, using a blistering fastball and a dizzying mix of offspeed pitches to baffle Northmor batters.
“His velocity is the best we see. I mean, I don’t know, we may see something later that’s similar, but his fastball is as good as you’ll see and his curveball is nasty,” Workman said. “And I felt like he threw quite a few of those today. My guys were way out in front of those (offspeed pitches).”
Carpenter struck out 14 batters Wednesday, including 11 out of the last 12 he faced. He allowed one hit, one run, and walked one batter.
“I was expecting to come in and overpower Northmor, and when they got that hit off me, that’s kind of when I realized, ‘Alright, let’s go. Focus up,’” Carpenter said. “And after that, I really was mentally focused and ready to go.”
Carpenter, like Mast two days before him, also received help Wednesday from an air-tight defense.
“Kaid’s a high-strikeout guy, but you’ve still gotta be ready to play defense all the time with him,” Hathaway noted. “And I thought when they did put the ball in play, we made the routine plays and just executed really well on defense.”
Hathaway said he was proud of the way his team battled back Wednesday, facing an early deficit to a state-ranked team on the road.
“They hit us quick there, but it was early and I know that our guys are gonna battle until the last pitch,” the seventh-year head coach said.
“These guys have been in enough tight games that they understand that one inning can turn it around. And I thought we did a good job running the bases and just trying to keep pressure on them, and trying to find a way to get one more than them. That was the biggest thing.”
Lester, also a MVNU commit, said the Freddies were able to come back because they believed in themselves – and each other. They clinched their fifth straight conference title as a result.
“We know if we get down like that, we can come back,” Lester said. “We’ve just gotta stay comfortable, don’t get down on ourselves, and stay up, because we know we’ve got plenty of firepower to get back – to get the lead like we did. And then you get a bigger lead, get even more comfortable, and give Kaid the ability to just feel relaxed and throw strikes.”
LOOKING AHEAD: Fredericktown will face rival Centerburg twice – on the road Friday and at home Monday – before heading to Mount Gilead on Tuesday to round out KMAC play.
The Freddies are scheduled to play at least six non-conference games before the postseason begins May 13.
The team has big goals. After falling in the regional semifinals five straight years, Fredericktown is looking to break through to the round of eight this spring. Hathaway believes this group is capable of doing so.
“I think our practices have been a little more intense this year – you know, not really having days where we may not get as much done. We’re trying to maximize what we’re doing at practice. And even if it’s base-running for half the practice, we’re just trying to maximize what we’re doing to get better each day,” Hathaway said.
“And that’s what (the players have) brought, is an attitude of wanting to do that. So when you have kids that want to get better each day, it’s easy for us as coaches to come in and throw the plan at ’em and they go to work. And they’re hungry, that’s the thing. They know what they’re working for and we’ve just gotta continue to keep improving.”
But Wednesday offered a time to reflect on all the team had accomplished so far.
With two weeks left in the regular season, Fredericktown had locked up its fifth straight KMAC title. The team’s senior class will graduate having never lost the conference.
Carpenter grew wide-eyed when confronted with that reality postgame.
“It’s awesome. It’s gonna be something we remember forever,” the senior said. “Five in a row. That’s really cool.”
The key, Lester said, has been cohesiveness and a commitment to winning. His senior class, and the classes that have come up alongside it, have made both a priority. The results have spoken for themselves.
“I think it’s just because we’re a family. We’ve got chemistry on the field. And we play well. We hit good, we field good, and we pitch good. We just bring it all together,” Lester said. “We play well as a team and we get it done.”
