Criswell, Mayr bring swagger to J’ville

Jessieville's Brock Mayr swings at a pitch against Fountain Lake on March 4, 2022, at North Garland County Boys and Girls Club. - Photo by Krishnan Collins of The Sentinel-Record
Jessieville's Brock Mayr swings at a pitch against Fountain Lake on March 4, 2022, at North Garland County Boys and Girls Club. - Photo by Krishnan Collins of The Sentinel-Record

JESSIEVILLE -- Jessieville is gearing up for its matchup with Genoa Central Monday.

Lions head coach Ryan O'Neal has his squad looking good in the early parts of the season.

"Big game day," O'Neal said. "If we play like I know we can, I think we will beat them. I think it will be a really good game."

Jessieville dropped Friday's game to Glen Rose 10-1.

The Lions (4-4, 1-2 3A-7) have been blasting the ball, winning two games 18-7 against Two Rivers and Centerpoint back-to-back. Jessieville did lose a 25-24 shootout with Perryville.

"We are swinging it at the right time," O'Neal said. "And they are throwing the right pitches I guess. I would not say we are that great, the competition just was not as high on some of those games. Perryville is not bad but they were saving arms for a conference game the next day."

The Lions' bats are roaring as junior Broc Mayr is hitting .517, and junior Dawson Lawhon is batting .500 on the season.

"The top half of the order is pretty good, and it kind of drops off toward the bottom half," O'Neal said. "We have got some younger guys and guys who have not played as much."

Stepping on the mound for Jessieville is Mayr, junior Karston Criswell, junior Tayt Mounts and sophomore Dalton Ellison.

"They have all got some good moving pitches," O'Neal said. "Criswell has got that mentality when he gets on the bump that you look for in a pitcher. It is just a different ego whenever he steps up there. He becomes a machine. Tayt Mounts is a guy who feeds us lots of strikes. He makes them earn it.

"Probably the best arm right now is Brock Mayr, lefty. He is kind of a utility guy; he plays first base and outfield. Really like him in the outfield. He has some really good range, and he reads the ball really good off the bat."

Jessieville has an aggressive style of play.

"We like to just go up and let it sling," O'Neal said. "We put a little bit of pressure on a team and make them execute. We have got some guys who have some pretty good wheels. The top of our lineup has played a lot of ball. They know what needs to be done."

When playing aggressively, the middle infield must be ready at all times.

"Shortstop is Criswell," O'Neal said. "Last year was his first year to play since third grade I believe. He is a great kid, and he is super fast with his feet. He has got a lively arm. Pretty well if he can reach it he has got you. Second baseman is Daniel Dellis. He is a freshman, and we call him squirt. The kid has got great potential. He is young, and we just have to get him over that. The kid's got a great glove and knows baseball. It is just going to take time to get adjusted to high school level."

First and third are the lockdown corners on any baseball team. Most plays run through first base and all scoring threats touch third.

"Lawhon or Ellison depending on the situation at third," O'Neal said. "Dawson plays both corners when Brock is on the mound. Super strong bat. The guy is coming on for us really well now. He has a really cool head. Anything hit in his direction, he pretty well smothers it along with Dalton. Ellison's got a cannon of an arm when he does field a ball over at third and has a good little swagger to him as well."

The outfielders keep teams in games with routine fly balls and quick decision making to hit the correct cutoff man.

"In the outfield we have got Brock Mayr, Criswell who plays short whenever Brock's on the bump," O'Neal said. "Criswell is our centerfielder. We have got a lot of guys that move around. One guy who is out there all the time that is new for us this year is a senior. He transferred over from Fountain Lake. He hasn't played since he was a freshman, Trystan Redifer. He has had two ACL repairs, but the guy can fly. He reads the ball really well off the bat. He has been a great addition to us this year. If anything goes up in the air on his third of the field, pretty well confident he has got it covered."

Baseball players are known to be a different breed, bringing a fun confidence to the field and dugout.

"The two biggest swagger guys are probably Criswell and Mayr," O'Neal said. "One is a righty and one is a lefty and they go back-and-forth with each other about it all the time. The guys look toward them for momentum and that type of stuff. When they are on, the rest of them fall in right behind them."

Upcoming Events