Eagles whip Whippets Oran reaches final four with 12-3 win

ORAN, Mo. -- After scoring only six runs in its last two games, Oran High School's potent offense came to life Friday afternoon, trouncing visiting Ellington 12-3 in a Class 1 quarterfinal game.

With the win, the Eagles earned their second consecutive trip to the final four in Columbia. Oran (21-2) will face Concordia (17-2) Wednesday at 5 p.m. Concordia advanced with an 8-2 win over Leeton.

The Eagles, who were the visiting team on the scoreboard, jumped on Ellington (15-6) starter Levi Cowin right out of the gates. After shortstop Ryne Wood was hit by a pitch, Trey Graviett hit a towering home run to left field to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

"Once we had the early lead we knew Tyler would do a good job of keeping them shut down," Oran outfielder Joey Bickings said.

After Oran pitcher Tyler Nelson pitched around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, the Oran offense went back to work. Garrett Roslen, the No. 8 batter in the lineup, offered up the next big bang. After looking bad on the first few pitches, Roslen smacked a Cowin fastball over the center field fence.

Nelson said the early offensive start really sunk Ellington.

"When we came out and jumped on them they just got quiet," he said.

Oran was held for the first time in the third, and Ellington looked like it may crack the scoreboard with two outs in its half of the inning. Nelson struck out the first two batters but left a pitch up that Ellington catcher Mike Russell tagged for a two-out double. Russell advanced to third on a wild pitch, and the next batter hit a ball hard off Oran second baseman Matt Seyer's glove. Seyer recovered, though, and retired the runner to keep Russell from scoring.

The Eagles added to their lead in the fourth. Nelson hit a one-out double and Roslen reached on an error. Patrick Friga, the No. 9 batter, sacrificed the runners over and lead-off man Nathan Seyer dinked a hit over the third baseman to stretch the lead to 5-0.

"We've been practicing hitting line drives the last couple of days, and that's what we did today," Bickings said.

Nelson got out of a first and second no-out jam in the fourth, which set the stage for the Eagle's third home run of the day. Bickings knocked Cowin out of the game with an opposite field two-run homer. Two more Eagle hitters would reach, setting up Roslen's RBI single, which gave Oran an 8-0 lead.

The Whippets used a walk, an RBI double and a two-run homer by Cowin to finally crack the scoreboard. Ellington's three runs chased Nelson after 4 2/3 innings of work. Graviett relieved Nelson and struck out the next batter to end Ellington's inning.

"The fifth inning got a little rough, but I'll come out any game for a win," Nelson said.

Graviett had little trouble shutting the door on Ellington the rest of the way. The Whippets managed a hit off Graviett in the seventh, but did not put another runner in scoring position. The Eagles were not as kind to Ellington reliever Jonathan Swyers, touching him up for four runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to push the score to 12-3.

Oran finished with 13 hits, with every starter contributing a hit. Graviett led the offense with a 2-for-5 performance and four RBIs. Nelson added three hits and Roslen and Tyler Cookson had two hits apiece.

Oran coach Mitch Wood said he was confident his hitters would come through against Ellington.

"This is a group that really does a good job of staying focused," he said.

Nelson picked up his seventh win of the season, allowing four hits, four walks and striking out five. Graviett struck out four in 2 1/3 innings.

Bickings said the Eagles are confident they can go all the way this year.

"Last year we went up there and I thought we had a good chance, but I think nerves hurt us," he said. "This year we know what it takes to win."

Featuring a starting lineup with only one non-senior, the Eagles have plenty of leadership to take to Columbia.

"That's a big help," Nelson said. "Going back we have a lot of maturity to carry us."

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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