South Callaway stuns Portageville in Class 3 semifinal

OZARK, Mo. — Despite a valiant effort, Portageville’s dreams of a state championship were dashed in a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal after a disastrous fifth inning proved to be insurmountable.

The No. 1 Bulldogs (34-3) lost 9-4 to No. 5 South Callaway (24-7) at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31.

“We’ve excelled at executing during pivotal moments this season,” said Portageville coach Tyler Trover. "However, today we struggled to handle the pressure. The kids never quit, we hung in there and played hard. We’ve tidal waved so many people over the last few years, that once we get going in the right direction, it’s like we have our opponents in quicksand. But today it was us stuck and sinking.

Portageville's Trey Benthal (14) throws a pitch during 9-4 loss to South Callaway in a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“Things were rolling along, and we gave up a dadgum nine-spot,” he continued. “There weren’t many balls hit very hard, but credit to South Callaway and coach [Heath] Lepper. He’s won a state championship and is a Hall of Fame coach. He kept the pressure on us, and we weren’t ready to match it.”

Portageville led 1-0 after Jaquan Bogan singled to centerfield and Thomas Frakes scored on the throw in the bottom of the second inning.

The Bulldogs’ defense also turned a triple play in the top of the second inning after Beau-Hunter Warren snatched a line drive out of the air for the first out, followed by a quick flip to Frakes at first base for the double play, and Frakes delivered a bullet pass to Mason Adams at second base to complete the trifecta.

Portageville coach Tyler Trover encourages Conner Johnson (10) during 9-4 loss to South Callaway in a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

With a combination of athleticism and smarts, the team turned a potential disaster into a moment of glory.

"It was a heads-up play on all ends,” Trover said. “But credit [South Callaway] again, they didn’t let a play like that define the game. They came right back and flipped the momentum back their way; we turned the triple play and we get a couple of runners on to start the next inning and we don’t find a way to get at least one in. That’s a killer. We have a couple of good cracks from some of our better hitters. They’ve been nails for us all year, but they just weren’t today.”

South Callaway surged ahead 9-1 in the fifth inning, dealing a devastating blow to Portageville. The first run was scored on an error, and South Callaway quickly capitalized on their momentum, extending the lead to 7-1 with four consecutive singles. The final two runs were also the result of an error.

Portageville's Mason Adams (9) throws a pitch during 9-4 loss to South Callaway in a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Despite their best effort, the Bulldogs were unable to recover from this setback.

“Everyone here is incredibly talented,” Trover said. “This season was a true test of our resilience. Despite being beaten, battered and tired — as everyone is at this point in the season — we’ve also been dealing with more injuries than in the past., Nevertheless, our team has managed to win 34 games, which is truly phenomenal. It’s worth noting that tomorrow’s state title-winning team will have fewer wins than us, which speaks volumes about our guys. They show up every day, grind it out and find a way to compete. Unfortunately, today just wasn’t our day.”

Although South Callaway had taken a commanding lead, Portageville refused to give up.

Portageville's Luke Moylan (13) and Jayquan Bogan (21) head back to the dugout following 9-4 loss to South Callaway in a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

In the bottom of the seventh inning, they rallied for three runs, bringing the score to 9-4. Those runs came after Conner Johnson scored on a fielder’s choice and Trey Benthal doubled to score Warren and Huston Partin.

However, the game ended on a groundout shortly thereafter.

“When we first started this thing, it was about being relevant and competing for the district,” Trover said. “We did that before these guys got up here, but then it became what group is going to get us over that hump and to the final four, where we’re competing for a state championship. These guys have done that. They’ve helped change the culture of the program.

Portageville assistant coach TJ Smith share a moment with his son before a MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark, Missouri, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“We have a lot of juniors and a lot of kids that are going to come back next year,” he continued. “It’s not going to be easy, in fact, it’s going to be harder than ever, but you have to like where we are sitting in terms of our experience factor and returning talent.”

Portageville will face Barstow (23-7) in the third-place game at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 1.

“I’m proud of my guys,” Trover concluded. “We wanted it to end a different way, but we did not play very well or sound defensively. It’s not any one person’s fault we struggled. It was a collective group, and on top of that, baseball happened too. We hit some balls hard that just got caught, and they were able to leak some balls just over our infielders after some very well-executed pitches. It’s just the way it goes sometimes. It’s a frustrating game sometimes, but that’s just part of life. At the end of the day, it doesn’t define who we are, and our kids will show that tomorrow.”

__SOUTH CALLAWAY 9, PORTAGEVILLE 4__

SC 000 090 0 — 9 9 1

P’Ville 010 000 3 — 4 4 4

W—Dane Daughtery. L—Trey Bentham. 2B—South Callaway: Ryan Lepper; Portageville: Benthal.