Eagles recover from semifinal loss, beat Silex 6-4

~ A day after making three errors in one inning Wednesday, Williams concluded his high school career with four RBIs on Thursday.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The disappointment of Wednesday's semifinal loss had not left Oran's baseball team as it took the Taylor Stadium field for Thursday's Class 1 third-place game.

Oran had never finished fourth in seven previous final four appearances, and the Eagles made sure Thursday would not be the first time with a 6-4 win over Silex.

The Eagles scored early, played better defense after committing six errors in the semifinal and received key contributions from their three senior starters to finish the season 26-5.

"Better than fourth is all I have to say," Oran senior Austin Dumey.

This was the fourth trip to Columbia for the Eagles in the past five seasons, as Oran still searches for its first state title. The Eagles have now finished third five times and second three times.

"We're going to keep taking our chances, and hopefully we'll go up here one day and win No. 1 for Oran," said coach Mitch Wood, in his sixth final four with Oran.

The game had a decidedly different feel from Wednesday's semifinal, with Oran taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Five straight batters reached following leadoff hitter Caleb Seyer's fly out.

Tyler Beardslee brought home the first run of the game when he took a pitch off the helmet with the bases loaded. Senior first baseman Joey Williams drove in two more with a single.

"I think the kids were really down up until game time," Wood said. "We told the kids we're here, so let's get third at least."

Silex (12-6), making its first state final four appearance, tied the score at 3-3 after two innings.

Oran jumped back in front with a three-run third against Silex starter Joey Pietzman. One run scored on an error by Pietzman on Chase Seyer's sacrifice bunt, and Williams brought home two more with a one-out double that was the game's only extra-basehit.

"We scored early, but what I liked about the game more than anything was they tied it up and we scored again, we battled," Wood said.

Chase Seyer, a junior left-hander who pitched the final two innings Wednesday, battled through five innings for the win. Seyer walked three, struck out three and allowed four hits.

Senior Paul Bucher pitched the final two innings for the save. Bucher struck out one, allowed two hits and one unearned run. In the semifinal, Bucher threw six consecutive balls before giving way to Seyer.

"It's hard to get really excited about this game, but I thought both pitchers did a good job getting up for the game and staying focused," Wood said.

Williams, who made three errors in Sacred Heart's three-run fourth inning in the semifinal, finished with two hits and four RBIs. Dumey, the losing pitcher in the semifinal, was on base three times and scored twice.

"They did a good job today," Wood said of his senior starters. "They've done a good job all year. That's what we tried to do today, put them in position to do something."

Sophomore second baseman Kody Campbell led Oran's six-hit attack with three hits. He scored twice. Campbell, Oran's leading hitter heading into the tournament, was 5-for-8 in the final four. The Eagles had five sophomores on the field during for the final four and will lose four seniors overall.

"I just hope this younger group has a better chance with getting here," Dumey said, "and hopefully they have a couple of chances to get first one of these years."

The Eagles will return four of their top five hitters, and two of their top three pitchers in terms of innings and decisions. Oran finished its season winning 14 of its final 15 games.

Wood said this year's team may have progressed more in a single season than any group he's had.

"I felt we were a marginal team at the beginning of the year, and at the middle of the year I didn't think we'd be able to win a district title," Wood said. "These players grew a lot. I'm still dealing with a lot of sophomores and juniors. These kids really came a long way."

Championship

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CLASS 1 THIRD-PLACE GAME

ORAN 6, SILEX 4

Oran 303 000 0 -- 6 6 2

Silex 120 000 1 -- 4 6 2

WP -- Chase Seyer, 7-2; LP -- Joey Pietzman, 5-3; Save -- Paul Bucher, 2. 2B -- Joey Williams (O). Multiple hits -- Oran, Kody Campbell 3-4, Williams 2-4. Records -- Oran 26-5, Silex 12-7.