May 25 2009                        Check Out previous Blogs

District Championships came in all shapes & sizes this week.  Let's look around the STATE at many of the finals..

...it began on Tuesday, Jacob Worrell of Westminster threw a NO-Hitter at John Burroughs on the way to a 4-0 Class 3 District title. Worrell walked a batter in 1st and 2nd innings, then ran off 15 straight outs. On a team that features Jacob Turner (see last week) as an ace, Worrell moved the ball around in the strike zone. Former Cardinals, Todd Worrell (no surprise there) and Mike Matheny were in the WCA dugout. Listen to the replay on www.prepcasts.com  Prepcasts will be announcing the Westminster-Salem game on Tuesday.

...after 25 years, Rock Bridge tasted the sweet taste of state championship waters with a 5-4 win over the Hickman Kewpies. Clay Leible was the starter and went deep into the game for the Bruins. The game ended in an unusual way....on a grounder to 2B with 2 outs, the throw pulled the 1B off bag allowing the 4th run to score. Quickly, the 1B, DJ Christensen saw the Kewpie pinch runner trying to go to 3B on the errant throw. His accurate throw to 3B following by a brief run-down ended this one and sends the Bruins on with District title #3.

...Oak Ridge (12-6) won their 1st district in 15 years, behind the outstanding pitching of Ethan Sachs, 8-2 over S. Iron in Class 1 play. Sachs had 14 k's and allowed only 4 hits with a single walk in his 4th win of the year. He's now 4-1.

....the Nixa Eagles (18-7) used the momentum from the semifinal victory the previous day (Nixa scored 5 runs in 7th and two runs in 9th to upend Glendale) to topple the #1 seed the Ozark Tigers(19-3) 8-3. Nixa scored early in this contest and used Patrick Chandler's strong pitching in the middle innings to keep all the momentum away from the 10 time Central Ozark Conference Champion. Ben Van Gorp (3 hits and 5 RBI's) was the hitting star of the game for the Eagles who notched their first district title since 2000.

...5th seeds aren't supposed to win district titles.....well that's not the way it's designed. They are supposed to be the 5th best team of the district -- not the winner. Not so this year in  a couple different places. The DeSmet Spartans (13-13) beat the #3 Ladue Rams 5-3. The Spartans scored all 5 of their runs in the first 3 innings and fought off a determined Ram rally in the 7th to win the district title for the 12th time. Listen to the replay on www.prepcasts.com Also 5th seeded were the DeSoto Dragons(14-11) who beat North County Bonne-Terre 2-0 for the Class 4, District 1 title. Prepcasts will be announcing the DeSmet-Ft Zumwalt South Sectional game on Tuesday.

...5th seed AND a long wait..Stockton captured their 1st district championship in 19 years at Ash Grove. The 5th seeded Tigers had Robbe Ewing lead the way.  It wasn't easy. Ewing brought a dazzling 8-0, 0.64 era into the game. Fair Grove jumped on him for 5 runs in the first 3 innings! Stockton fought back with 4 runs in 4th, 1 in 5th and 3 in the 6th. Ewing settled down finished with 8 strikeouts on the mound. In addition, he banged out 2 hits including a 2 run double and shut out the Eagles over the last 4 innings.

....revenge may linger for a long time. If not controlled, it may be damaging to a person or team. On the other hand, it may motivate a person or team. Hazelwood West Wildcats (15-11)had dropped two games this year to Hazelwood Central Hawks (17-6).  Using Robert Wright's 2 hits (including a double) and two hits, 3 RBI's by Trevor Jones the Wildcats advance as they post a 7-4 win over the Hawks.

...another team remembered last year's stinging defeat. Kirksville faced Boonville again in 09 as they had done in 2008. In a wild game with 23 runs, 17 walks, 15 runners stranded Kirksville raised their record to 23-4 with a 15-8 victory over Boonville. Next on tap for Kirksville is Grain Valley. YOu can hear that game on the Prepcasts Broadcasting Network.

Pitching wins games! Take a look at some of these stellar pitching performances...

...Coulton Young (ND-Cape) raised his personal record to 9-0 with a 4-1 victory over Kennett. ND-Cape, now 25-1, overcame some late innings errors and were able to ride the 8 strikeout, two hit, no walk hurling of Young into Sectional play.

...In Class 1, District 11 action LaPlata nudged Canton 2-1 in a game filled with base runners ! LaPlata left the bases loaded in the 4th & 5th innings and stranded 12 for the game. Both teams scored in the 1st inning. It wasn't until the 6th that the winning tally scored when Jake Heissler drove home the run with a single. Earlier in the year, LaPlata had handled Canton 15-0. You just never know what post-season play will bring.

...Caleb Barnum of Strafford threw a 2-hit shutout over Blue Eye 3-0 in the Class 2 District 10 Title game. More exciting than the pitching, Barnum stole home for one of the Strafford runs !

...Ft Zumwalt South(24-6) (highlighted earlier in the year in blogs for their excellent pitching) used the ace of the staff, AJ Walkenhorst to whip St Charles West 6-0 in Class 4, District 8 play. The Bulldogs game against DeSmet is on Prepcasts. Walkenhorst went the distance for the 7th time and scattered 5 hits to notch the win.

... In class 1 action, Michael Smith (Bernie High) shutout Bell City 10-0 in a 5 inning game. Bernie dazzled everyone with some spectacular defensive plays that stymied all of the Cub(6-12) attempts to score. Bernie is now 18-5 for the year.

You want some scoring (and heartbreaks)....

....Class 2, District 6 saw the winning hit in the 7th drop into shallow right field off the bat of Garet Halbert to give Linn(17-8) a thrilling 11-10 win over a red-hot Harrisburg team. Harrisburg had hung up 10 straight W's with wins over New Bloomfield and state-ranked Fatima. It wasn't to be on this day however. Linn scored 2 runs in the 7th for the win. Rallying from a 5 run deficit, the Wildcats capitalized on some leaky Bulldog defense ,including a dropped fly in the 7th inning, to notch the win.

...Rolla (21-5)seemed to have it wrapped up. A 6-1 lead entering the 7th inning with ace, Dalton Friend on the hill. Not so--Eureka scored 5 runs to tie it up in the top half of the 7th. After Friend walked the first two batters in the that 7th, the Wildcat bats came alive and scored 5 runs. Rolla used doubles by Cameron Fore and Daniel Perdue in the bottom half of the 7th to grab a 7-6 win and take home their first District trophy in 12 years.

Other nail biters around the state...

Class 2, District 14 -- Lexington 4  Barstow 3

Class 4 -- Marquette 3 Parkway South 1.. Kyle Grieshaber leads the Mustangs with 2 hits, RBI and a run scored.

Class 4 , District 16 - Winnentonka  8 Ft Osage 7

Class 1, District 16 - Lone Jack 8  Kingsville 5

Class 4, District 12 -- Joplin 4  Hillcrest 2...tied 2-2 in the 6th, two defensive miscues were led to the winning runs for the Eagles.  Hillcrest stranded many runners early in the game.

Prepcast Blog Continued...

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