MSHSAA job keeps Oran alum from showing his true colors

SPRINGFIELD -- Even with the parents of the executive director of the Missouri State High Schools Activities Association rooting on the Oran Eagles, they were unable to advance to today's Class 1 state championship game in hopes of winning the school's first state championship.

In fact, MSHSAA executive director Kerwin Urhahn had the task of telling Oran coach and superintendent Mitch Wood he had to leave the stadium after Wood was ejected in the fifth inning of the 7-4 semifinal loss to Stoutland.

"I know Mitch very well," said Urhahn, a 1985 Oran graduate who played against Holcomb graduate Wood in high school baseball. "Mitch was very professional and understood. He made it a very easy situation for me to deal with because he dealt with it in a professional manner."

Urhahn said he had to be "impartial and unbiased" while his alma mater made its first final four appearance during his two-year tenure as MSHSAA executive director.

However, his mother, Kay, wore Oran garb. Urhahn's nephew, freshman Nolan Urhahn, is a freshman on the Oran team.

"You definitely have ties to the community," Urhahn said. "I'll be quiet and won't root for anybody, but if No. 25 comes to bat, I'll probably stop and root for him because he's my nephew. It's special to see my nephew get an opportunity to play in a state tournament."

Kerwin Urhahn never played in a final four while his brothers, Eric and Derrick, did. Eric played for the 1980 team, while Derek was a sophomore on that team and returned to the tourney in 1981.

Oran has made nine final four appearances -- seven since 1998 -- but never won a state championship.

"Not everyone is going to win," Urhahn said. "You want people to learn from athletics."

Urhahn called his second year in charge of MSHSAA an interesting year as the association came under the spotlight of the state legislature.

"Hopefully, we've developed some communication with the legislature and some relationships with them for them to feel comfortable that if they have issues, they can contact the office and work with us to find the best solution for the problem," Urhahn said. "The bottom line is that the schools are the ones to make the rules and it is our responsibility to enforce the rules made by the member schools. Now, when that occurs, people don't always agree on how those rules should be enforced. Those are the issues we're working through."

Urhahn said Bell City remains an open investigation, but that Southeast Missouri is perhaps more calm than a year ago with some issues addressed.

"The thing is, people in Southeast Missouri know me and they feel very free to tell me about this situation or that situation," Urhahn said. "I have to relay to them, if those are concerns you have, you have to put those in writing. I cannot act upon them unless they're in writing and you have to put your name on the bottom line.

"I wouldn't think it would ever be totally calm everywhere in the state of Missouri, just because that's the nature of the beast."

Final Four gravy

Oran senior Kody Campbell, one of seven seniors on the team, is making his second final four appearance. He was on the Oran team that finished third in 2006.

"It's hard to come back and play in that game; let me tell you, it's hard," Campbell said. "It's our last game, and a lot of us are seniors, so hopefully we'll come out and put on a good show for all the people that come to watch us."

Oran has gone to five final fours in the last seven years, and now has made nine appearances without a state championship, tying Sikeston for the most final fours without a title.

"What they tell me, and I'm starting to realize it as my career is coming to an end, getting here is the fun part, and after that it's all gravy," Campbell said. "We're happy to be here, but we're not happy about coming up short again.

"Hopefully we can come back and get a win and keep some momentum going toward next year for the guys coming back."

Wood expected his team to compete in today's third-place game against New Haven.

"You've got to come back and try to play hard," he said. "I think we will. I think we'll rebound pretty good."

SEMO in Springfield

The Scott City players took in Oran's semifinal game; and Oran players returned from lunch to show their support for the Rams.

"A lot of the guys are close," Campbell said. "We play in the summer together. Hopefully, they can bring a state championship back to Southeast Missouri."

Oran and Scott City were scheduled to play each other this season, but the game was rained out.

With Notre Dame in the Class 3 final four later this week, Southeast Missouri had three teams in Springfield after having none last year.

Quotebook

Mitch Wood on the call that got him ejected, a batter's interference call on Alex Chasteen, which followed four innings of frustration: "It was a bad call. It was one of those things where he wasn't going to let anybody show him up or say anything to him, basically."

Wood on Stoutland pitcher Cory Kyle, who was a loser to Oran in a 3-0 game earlier this year: "Their pitcher did a great job against us. He looked a little better, a little sharper today, but we didn't get many two-out hits and struck out too many times with men on base, and you can't do that."

Kyle, on walking the first three batters he faced: "I don't know what the deal was because I wasn't nervous or anything. My arm felt good; I just couldn't find the strike zone. Most of them, I wasn't even close to the zone."

Stoutland coach Scott White, on why those walks weren't costly: "The difference between us was that we both took some walks early in the game, and we got a big hit; they didn't. So that was the difference between 3 and 1."

Kyle on Oran pitcher Jayden Pobst: "He's definitely the hardest pitcher we faced. We had a couple kids from JV throw it to us from 45 feet so we could work on hitting the fastball."

White on his pitcher, Kyle, and his sixth-inning visit to the mound as Oran brought the tying run to the plate: "Oran scored three on him last time, and they scored [four] today, but other than those two games, he's given up one or fewer every time. He was really sharp at times and at times, he struggled.

"Late in the game, he was getting tired and was for the first time all year over 100 pitches. He told me, 'I'm not coming out.' I said, 'Hey, it's yours.' He said, 'This is my last one I'm pitching in high school; I'm putting us in the championship game.' When your stud says that, there you go, you've got it. And he did. I'm really proud of him."