Raiders, Rebels dumped in district semifinals

By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

FARMINGTON — The Festus Tigers capitalized fully on several early scoring chances, and snapped a lengthy string of post-season losses to North County on Tuesday with a 6-3 semifinal win at the Class 3, District 2 Tournament.

Senior hurler Matt Stites (7-1) mowed down the North County lineup through five innings with a combination of ground balls and strikeouts, then battled past a rocky sixth for the complete-game win.

Stites scattered six hits and fanned seven overall, while enjoying a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Lead-off man Austin Pierce drove in three runs with a homer and double, and Josh Treis was 2-for-2 with two runs scored for the Tigers.

Festus (20-4) seized the early momentum with three runs in the second inning against Raiders starter John Wigger after picking up an unearned tally on two throwing errors during the opening frame.

Cameron Eisenbeis bunted Jake Stafford to second base following a lead-off walk, and Treis lined a RBI single to left field. Pierce then crushed his fourth home run of the season down the right-field line for a 4-0 advantage.

North County (15-5) notched its first hit on a Derek Gibson single in the fourth. Jake Cavins added another single with one out, but Stites stopped the threat by inducing an inning-ending double play.

A two-out triple by Treis that drew a delayed reaction in right field sparked another Festus rally. Pierce slapped a RBI double along the left-field line to score Treis, and Stites made it 6-0 with a shallow single to center.

The Raiders finally broke through with a two-out surge in the sixth. Senior Nick Howlett ended Stites’ bid for a shutout with a RBI single that scored lead-off batter Matt Robinson.

After Cavins reached safely on an error, Matt Bone guided a RBI hit to right field, bringing North County within 6-2. Wigger hustled out an infield single for another run, but a strikeout closed the frame with the tying run at the plate.

Cavins completed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief after the first two batters reached safely in the Festus sixth, but North County were quickly retired in the seventh after catcher Will Swofford coaxed a lead-off walk.

Festus will battle Jefferson County rival De Soto on Thursday in a 3 p.m. championship game.

North County  000 003 0 - 3  6  3

Festus  130 200 x - 6  6  1

WP - Stites 7i 3r 1er 6h 7k 2bb.

LP - Wigger 3 2/3i 6r 5er 5h 1k 2bb.

Hitting:

North County - Gibson 1-3, Howlett 1-3, Cavins 1-3, Bone 1-3, Wigger 1-3, Robinson 1-4.

Festus - Treis 2-2, Pierce 2-4, Stites 2-4. 2b - Pierce. 3b - Treis. HR - Pierce (4).



De Soto 14, Central 7

FARMINGTON — De Soto senior Travis McComack reached base five times and highlighted a seven-run second inning with his fifth home run of the season, as the Dragons eliminated Central from district play with a 14-7 win.

McComack drew two intentional walks and added a double to finish 2-for-2 with four runs scored. Neal Finch and Brandon Osia each had two hits with three runs scored, and Eduardo Oquendo went 2-for-4 as the sixth-seeded Dragons tallied runs in five different innings.

Three Rebel pitchers combined to issue 10 free passes with starter Ryan Calvird taking the loss, and the defense behind them committed five errors. Central (9-16) triumphed in five of its previous six contests, including a 6-2 victory over De Soto last week.

De Soto (16-9) sent 11 batters to the dish during a long second frame that began with a walk and subsequent throwing error. Matt Guemmer delivered his first of two RBI singles, and McComack drilled a three-run homer over the right-center wall for a sudden 6-0 lead.

Osia doubled home Finch against reliever Tanner Skaggs, then scored on another Central miscue to punctuate the explosive inning.

The Rebels responded nicely against pitcher Kaileb Armbruster during the middle innings. RBI ground outs by Andrew DeClue and Calvird allowed Rick Militzer and Bryce MacBride to score in the third.

Senior Stevan Rodgers crushed a solo home run moments later to bring the Rebels within 8-3. MacBride, who went 2-for-4 in his final game at Central, added a two-run single following two De Soto errors in the fourth.

A double by Calvird gave Central two runners in scoring position while trailing 8-6, but reliever Blake Bennett fielded a ground ball near the mound to avoid further damage.

Skaggs nearly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the De Soto fourth, but Guemmer delivered a pivotal two-run single with two outs. The Dragons put the contest out of reach at 13-6 by netting three more runs in the fifth.

Bennett notched two strikeouts and allowed one unearned run over 3 2/3 innings for the win.

Calvird had a second hit taken away in the sixth when a line drive was called foul after clearly falling in fair territory. Skaggs doubled and scored earlier in the frame, and Dominic Petty added a single for the Rebels.

The Central loss ensured that no team from the MAAA Large-School division would reach a district final this season.

Central  003 301 0 - 7  7  5

De Soto  170 231 - 14  11  4

WP - Bennett 3 2/3i 1r 0er 3h 2k 0bb.

LP - Calvird 1 1/3i 6r 4er 2h 1k 4bb.

Hitting:

Central - MacBride 2-4, Skaggs 1-2, Militzer 1-3, Calvird 1-3, Rodgers 1-4, Petty 1-4. 2b - Calvird, Skaggs. HR - Rodgers (1).

De Soto - McComack 2-2, Finch 2-3, Osia 2-4, Oquendo 2-4, Guemmer 2-5, Smith 1-3. 2b - McComack, Osia. HR - McComack (5).