Five errors prove too costly for Oran baseball team in loss

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Oran baseball coach Mitch Wood's message to his team after its 6-5 loss to Liberal in the Class 1 state semifinal wasn't full of new material.

Wood said he told his players "what you tell them at the beginning of the year. Pitching and defense is going to bring us some places, and we didn't do a very good job."

The Eagles committed five errors against the Bulldogs that resulted in extra opportunities and three unearned runs for Liberal.

"Their closer," Wood said, beginning a laundry list of things that went wrong for his team Wednesday. "Bring him in and he shuts them down. We bring someone in, and he don't shut them down, so it's as simple as that.

"We didn't get a bunt down, a squeeze. Five errors -- one of them was a pop up that was a two-run after that.

Oran players watch from the dugout during the sixth inning of Wednesday's Class 1 state semifinal against Liberal in Springfield, Mo.

"What can you say? If you don't play better than that, you're not going to win too many ballgames."

Oran committed at least one error in each of the three innings that Liberal scored.

The Bulldogs scored their first run in the top of the first inning on an overthrow to second base by catcher Alex Heuring.

An error by shortstop Kody Moore then third baseman Dalton Elfrink led to two more runs in the fourth inning, and pitcher Zac Chasteen's drop of a pop up to begin the sixth inning helped jump-start a two-run inning for Liberal, which allowed it to take the lead for the final time.

Chasteen gave up six hits and three earned runs over his 5 1/3 innings pitched. He walked three and struck out five.

Oran's Kody Moore fields a ball during the third inning Wednesday.

The senior had to pitch around an error in every inning expect the second, something he said wears on a pitcher.

"It does, but it shouldn't affect me how it did," Chasteen said. "I stayed up and I tried to do what I was supposed to. I let them hit the ball in big situations when I missed locations, missed a pitch or something, and I shouldn't have."

Oran committed two errors in its sectional win over Cooter and three in its quarterfinal victory against Naylor.

"Here lately our pitching and defense hasn't been just fantastic," Wood said. "We've been getting hits, hitting to win baseball games."

The Eagles stayed in Wednesday's game by producing five hits and drawing four walks and a hit by pitch from Liberal starter Colton Selvey.

Oran also stole seven bases and was aided by six wild pitches and a passed ball.

"We're just trying to take every extra base we can," Chasteen said. "Throw it in the dirt and try to get an extra base and maybe get a few extra runs out of them we might not have."

Even with all of the mishaps, Oran held a lead entering the sixth inning and had two at-bats to try to even the score or take the lead after falling behind by a run.

"Unbelievable," Wood said. "I looked up again, just like I did the other day, and wondered how we were in the ballgame the way we're playing.

"I will give them that. They battled. Don't get me wrong, it's a good battling team, but we make a lot of mistakes. You can't make mistakes and usually get this far even."