STATE BOUND: KELLY STUNS 2A CHAMP MANSFIELD

BENTON -- Kelly High's storybook baseball season added another scintillating chapter Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks -- a team of destiny if ever there was one -- rallied from a 6-2 deficit to stun visiting Mansfield 7-6 in a Class 2A quarterfinal game.

Kelly's win over the two-time defending state champions vaults the Hawks into the 2A Final Four for the first time ever.

The Hawks will carry a 15-9 record into Wednesday's 11 a.m. semifinal game in Columbia against Independence-St. Mary's. Mansfield bowed out with a 19-4 mark after having its 18-game winning streak snapped.

"It's always been my high school dream (to reach the Final Four)," said winning pitcher Justin Vetter, one of only two senior starters for the Hawks. "But I never thought it would come true."

There probably weren't many people around Southeast Missouri -- other than the Hawks themselves -- who gave Kelly much of a chance of getting this far.

After all, the Hawks had previously won only one other district baseball title in school history (they lost in the sectional round that season) and they were seeded only third for this year's district tournament after a so-so regular season.

"This team has heart," said Vetter. "Nobody expected us to do this and that makes it even more special."

Kelly coach Mike Scott knows all about his team's heart. You don't win the kind of games the Hawks have won in their magical postseason run -- they've won their five games since district started by a total of six runs -- without having plenty of inner strength.

"I don't know if we're a team of destiny," said a laughing Scott. "But when you get four inches of rain in Cape and four inches in Sikeston (on Friday), and we only get about an inch here, maybe it tells you something.

"I know this team really battles. I'm so proud of them. They believe they'll win every game."

The Hawks believed all the way Saturday -- even though for most of the game things looked plenty bleak.

Powerful Mansfield -- boasting a .378 team batting average -- ripped two home runs and built a 6-2 lead after five innings (the Hawks were the official visiting team after a pre-game coin flip).

When the first two batters in the top of the sixth were retired, Kelly's chances appeared to be fading fast.

But then the strangest thing happened. Cleanup batter Vetter's routine grounder to shortstop was fielded cleanly but thrown away by Mansfield's all-state shortstop, Jeromy Brooke.

That opened the floodgates for the Hawks, who got plenty more help from the Lions. First, Jason Glastetter followed with a homer to left, making it 6-4.

"It felt good," said Glastetter of his blast. "When I hit it, I knew we'd come back."

Mansfield pitcher Jason Davis walked the next three batters. Freshman Bradley Kolwyck's grounder was then booted by Brooke, allowing one run to score. Davis then balked in Brandon Pattengill with the tying run.

Rejuvenated, Vetter got through the bottom of the sixth in fine fashion after the Lions had touched him for all six runs over the previous three innings.

The Hawks then carried their momentum into the seventh against reliever Jarod Cody. Ben Klipfel led off with a single to center and continued on to second when the ball was misplayed for an error.

With one out, Vetter walked. Both runners moved up on a passed ball, but they were still there with two outs. Then Mansfield's defense helped out again as Jim Hulshof's grounder to third was thrown over to first in plenty of time, but first baseman Mike Spyres -- who had just moved to that position when Cody went to the mound -- dropped the ball as Klipfel eased home with the tie-breaking run.

Vetter, who evened his record at 4-4, then finished things off with a perfect bottom of the seventh as the Hawks mobbed each other in celebration.

"We wanted to make this season memorable," said Pattengill, Kelly's other senior starter.

The Hawks finished with just five hits -- Hulshof had two -- as only one of their runs was earned.

Mansfield touched Vetter for nine hits, including homers by Brooke and Cody. But Vetter had his control, walking none while striking out four, and he finished strong.

"I thought Justin pitched a whale of a game, to allow six runs to a team like that," said Scott. "They have heavy hitters up and down the lineup."

As for Mansfield, coach Doug Jones could only think about what might have been as the Lions won't get a chance to three-peat as state champions.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," he said. "We kind of beat ourselves. Over the years, I can't remember us beating ourselves. But you have to give Kelly credit for staying in the game."

Added Scott, "It looked bad for us, but this team just never quits. Our kids just hung in there. They always believe they'll find a way to win."