The MSHSAA State Championship Tournament continues Wednesday and Thursday with the Class One and Two semi-final and championship rounds at Meador Park in Springfield, MO.

Class 2
The Class Two teams that remain should provide quality games and low scoring affairs. All four teams are well coached and have picked up quality wins all season long. The team who comes out of this class with the championship will have endured a season of success from start to finish and set the standard for what it takes to bring home a championship.

Valle Catholic 22-4

Road to the Final Four
No. 2 Seed in District 3
Defeated St. Vincent 12-0, Kelly 5-1, and Jefferson 5-2 to win the District
Defeated Crystal City 1-0 in Sectionals
Defeated Twin Rivers 7-6 in Quarterfinals
Valle Catholic against Summit Christian at 4:00 on Wednesday

Over the past few years, Valle Catholic has consistently fielded teams that are well coached and fundamentally sound. There is no dazzle and flash with their teams, just good players who do what they need to do to win a game. This year’s edition of that team is no exception.

“We have some experience playing in Springfield.  We have made it to three of the last six final fours, and we played in two tournaments in Springfield the last three years.  We have improved in every ball game we have played this year.  This trend needs to continue for us to have success this week,” said head coach Judd Naeger.

Alec Greminger, Tom Hermannn, and Tyler Litterest lead the Warrior offense. Greminger has speed from the lead off spot, and wreaks havoc on the bases with his aggressiveness and base running skills. Hermann provides the power from the clean up spot, leading the team in all power categories.  When there are runners on, Hermann will get them in. Litterest provides balance in the bottom half of the order, whether it be getting on base or having to drive a runner in. The balance of the Valle lineup is what makes them dangerous, and gives them a good shot at playing for the title on Thursday.

On the mound Litterest and fellow senior Alex Rollhaus lead a staff that won’t blow anyone away, but will pitch to contact and rely on the steady and consistent defense behind them. Both pitchers have great command of all pitches and will keep the offense off balance, even when they know what is coming. 

Valle Catholic is a team that hasn’t gotten hot at the right time, but has maintained their consistent play and winning ways all season long, something that not many teams can say. Look for them to give Summit Christian a good game, and advance to the championship game.

Summit Christian (22-5)

No. 1 Seed in District 15
Defeated Lexington 13-1 and Lafayette 5-2 to with the District
Defeated Bishop LeBlond 12-11 in Sectionals
Defeated Tipton 8-2 in Quarterfinals
Summit Christian against Valle Catholic at 4:00 on Wednesday

As we predicted, Summit Christian rolled through districts to get to this point.  Jared Gage continues to be a menace to opposing pitchers, leading Christian with a .549 batting average, seven doubles, six triples, two homeruns and forty-six RBIs. Gage has been a one-man wrecking crew this season, and if Christian has any chance of advancing to the championship game, he will need to keep hitting for the next two games. A.J. Boyer, Garrett Gibson, and Taurin Hughes compliment Gage with an offense that at times has been unstoppable, scoring in double digits sixteen times.

Jonathan Finch and Matthew Verschelden anchored a pitching staff that posted a combined 2.74 ERA and one hundred sixty eight strikeouts. The finesse pitcher, Finch, went 6-1with a 2.55 ERA in forty-six and two thirds innings.  Verschelden struck out fifty-nine over forty-two innings with a 8-3 record and 3.00 ERA.

"As far as preparation for the next few games we are just trying to keep our focus in practice and enjoy the opportunity we have been given to keep playing baseball.  The guys have never given up in this playoff run. Our sectional game they played their hearts out to win a one run game. Then they kept to our game plan in the quarterfinal game. Now we want to enjoy the ride and opportunity to play baseball in the final four," said coach John Gage on his squad's run in the post season.  

If their engines are running on all cylinders, Summit Christian could hit their way to a Class 2 title.

 

South Calloway (19-5)

Road to the Final Four
No. 4 seed in District 6
Defeated New Bloomfield 10-0, Eugene 3-0, and Linn 5-4 to win the District
Defeated Brentwood 11-0 in Sectionals
Defeated Schuyler County 19-2 in Quarterfinals
South Calloway against Clever at 7:00 Wednesday.

South Calloway has gotten hot at the right time this postseason, scoring forty-five runs in their last five games and surrendering a mere six.  Teams like this can be very dangerous this time of year, and will provide a formidable foe to Clever in their semi-final matchup.

 

Clever (26-3)

Road to the Final Four
No. 1 Seed in District 11
Defeated Crane 15-5, Blue Eye 10-3, and Marionville 12-2 to Win the District
Defeated Southwest 5-1 in Sectionals
Defeated Hartville 9-5 in the Quarterfinals
Clever against South Calloway Wednesday at 7:00

From the start of the season, Clever has been one of the favorites to win the Class Two championship. They have the right blend of pitching, hitting, and defense that makes them the favorite to come away with the title.

Offensively, the Blue Jays scored two hundred-twenty one runs on the season and had a team batting average of .343. Chance Wolfe leads the attack with a .568 batting average, eight doubles, two triples, and forty-two RBIs. Six other starters are hitting over .300, including David Pennewell (.390), Ranger Curtis (.370), Philip Valence (.349), Tyler Martin (.319), Travis Pennewell (.311), and Jordan Burnett (.309).

On the mound, Wolfe, Burnett, and Pennewell anchor the staff.  Wolfe went 8-0 with fifty-eight strikeouts and issuing only eight walks over forty-three innings, with a 1.14 ERA.  Burnett posted a 6-3 record with a 1.48 ERA and held opponents to a 1.48 ERA, striking out sixty-eight over fifty-six and two thirds innings.  Pennewell went 6-0 with fifty-eight strikeouts in forty-seven and two thirds innings, limiting batters to a .250 average.

Clever has the home field advantage and has been playing championship level baseball all season long. If they play their game, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them lifting the trophy Thursday afternoon.

 

Class 1
The Class One semi-final and championship games should produce entertainment and should not be missed. These games all will have the potential to see boat loads of runs and offensive outbursts that could result in some high scoring games. From our research and homework, this class is wide open and we can't wait to see who will come out on top.

Oran (19-8)

Road to the Final Four
No. 1 Seed in District 2
Defeated Advande, 10-0 and Bernie 6-5 to win District title
Defeated Cooter 6-3 in Sectionals
Defeated Naylor 4-1 in Quarterfinals
Oran vs. Santa Fe at 10:00am on Wednesday.

Coach Wood on this year’s team and accomplishments, “We are a little surprised to be here, we lost some good pitching and great hitting from last years team.  This bunch has really gelled as a team over the last few weeks, and with our schedule they feel they can compete with anyone.”

The Oran team posted a team .305 batting average, led by Kody Moore, Dalton Elfrink, and Seth Ressel. Moore led the squad in most offensive categories, with a .387 batting average, eight doubles, three triples, five homeruns, thirty-three runs scored, and twenty-nine RBIs. Elfrink posted a .356 average with five doubles, three triples, and twenty-six RBIs. When these two are hitting, it brings Oran’s level up and they seem to carry the team on their shoulders. Ressel led the team with a .400 average, four doubles, two triples, eleven RBIs, and sixteen stolen bases. Other contributors on offense include Jacob Priggle and Alex Huering.

Like on offense, Moore, Elfrink, and Ressel also led the pitching staff. Kody posted a 4-1 record with forty-six strikeouts in fifty-eight and a third innings and 2.64 ERA. Elfrink went 6-1 with a 2.65 ERA in thirty-nine and two thirds innings, with forty-six strikeouts and thirty-eight innings. Ressel led the pitching staff with a 2.48 ERA, while striking out thirty-five while posting a 5-3 record.

On the season, Oran played fifteen games that were against Class Two, Three, and Four teams, going 9-7 against the larger schools, so they are prepared for anything that may be thrown at them 

 

Santa Fe (21-1)

No. 1 Seed in District 15
Road to the Final Four
Defeated Kingsville 21-1, Lone Jack 4-1, and Sacred Heart 3-1 to win the District
Defeated Wellington 12-2 in Sectionals
Defeated Canton 13-4 in Quarterfinals
Santa Fe vs. Oran at 10:00am on Wednesday 

Statistically, Santa Fe has some of the best numbers in Class One. As a team, they play with confidence and fundamentals that got them to this point and could very well lead them to a Class One championship.

Coach Fisher on his team, “I am very pleased with the work ethic of these boys. They come to practice everyday with one thing in mind – To Get Better. At the beginning of the season we sat down as a team and discussed goals. We have done a very good job of working to obtain these goals however we have one goal, the biggest goal left to obtain. I can’t say enough about the cohesiveness of these guys. We are more then a team, we are family.”

Andrew Curry, Keaton Graf, Dalton Wilkinson, and Andrew Smith have been the leaders of this team all season long. Curry has been as hot as any player in the state both at the plate and on the mound. Curry posted a .585 batting average, with seven doubles, six triples, and six homeruns driving in twenty-nine runs. On the mound, Curry went a perfect 10-0 with eighty-nine strikeouts and a 0.92 ERA in sixty and two thirds innings pitched, allowing only ten walks.

Graf also distinguished himself as a top two-way player. He hit .500 on the season with three doubles, five home runs, and twenty RBIs.  On the mound, he went 5-1 with a 2.12 ERA, while fanning fifty-eight batters over thirty-three innings pitched.

Wilkinson and Smith provided additional punch at the plate. Wilkinson hit .459 with eight doubles, five home runs and a team leading thirty-nine RBIs. Smith is a hitter who is always on base and wreaking havoc on the base path, with a .492 average and eighteen stolen bases.

“Over the past week, we have been working on hitting line drives and base hits. We have worked on placing the ball in gaps. On defense we have been fine-tuning our cuts and double cuts. With the deep fences at Meador Park we have to keep the ball in front of us,” said Fisher on his preparation for the Final Four.

Santa Fe has been on a roll all season long, and are determined to come home with a championship

 

Norwood (21-5)

Road to the Final Four
No. 1 Seed in District 5
Defeated Hurley 13-1 and Billings 10-3 to win the District
Defeated Wheaton 7-6 in Sectionals
Defeated Weaubleau in Quarterfinals
Norwood vs. Sturgeon at 1:00 on Wednesday

The Norwood offense has some firepower, led by Cody Hull, who posted a .505 batting average with nine doubles, six triples, twenty-five RBIs and a homerun. Ryan Jenkins was the big run producer on for Norwood, driving in a team leading thirty-five RBIs, a .475 batting average, and nine doubles.

Hull and Jenkins also led the pitching staff, going a combined 13-5. Hull had a 6-2 record with a 1.45 ERA in fifty-eight innings pitched, striking out seventy-eight batters and holding opponents to a .173 batting average. Jenkins struck out fifty-two strikeouts in fifty-two and two thirds innings, while going 7-3. Zane Tate was a big part of the staff, winning seven games and posting a 1.89 ERA and holding batters to a .240 batting average.

 

Sturgeon (13-6)

Road to the Final Four
No. 3 Seed in District 12
Defeated Paris 4-0, Community 5-3, and Northeast 6-4 to win the District
Defeated New Franklin 2-0 in Sectionals
Defeated New Haven 6-1 in Quarterfinals
Sturgeon vs. Norwood Wednesday at 1:00

One of only three teams with a winning record in their district; Sturgeon has taken advantage of beating teams that they are supposed to beat to make it to the Final Four.

Sturgeon won’t put up big numbers on the scoreboard, but will keep opposing offenses off balance and play good defense to keep the team in the game. They will put the pressure on an opponent and take advantage of their mistakes.

Of the four teams in the semi-finals, Sturgeon is the wild card who should come out to play with nothing to lose and look for the upset of Norwood, and a berth in the championship game.