Prep Baseball Report

Missouri Final Four: June 5



Shon Plack
Missouri Scouting Director

The Class 2 State Championship is set and Class 4 is ready to talk center stage at T.R. Hughes in St. Charles today.  Here is a look at the week's events at the Missouri State Championship.


Thursday, June 4

Class 2 State Championship: #1 Valle Catholic 7, New Bloomfield 1
Valle Catholic repeats as Class 2 State Champions behind the performance of Andrew Basler.  Basler throws a complete-game allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.  He was also 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.  Dan Bergtholdt gave Valle Catholic an early 2-0 in the first wining with a two-run home run, he would finish the game with three RBI.  Derek Shinkles had two of New Bloomfield's three hits. Valle Catholic finishes the season with 30 wins, and have played in the Class 2 state championship in three of the last four years.

Class 2 Consolation: West Platte vs. Norwood, Cancelled

Friday, June 5

Class 4
10:30 - #1 Notre Dame (26-5) vs. Smithville (21-7)
Entering the preseason as the #2 ranked team in Class 4, Cape Notre Dame has met and exceeded expectations.  The Bulldogs have one of top pitching staffs in the state in any class, led by Mizzou commit, Graham RuoppAdam Pope and Hunter Eftnik have also added the sub-1 ERA during the regular season. The Bulldogs also have a pure left handed hitter in Mineral Area CC commit, Chase Urhahn and a physical power hitter in Dean Crippen.   Smithville enters the Final Four with a 21-7 mark, led by Kale Reid, an Iowa Western commit. Reid is hitting .410 on the season with seven doubles, three triples and 13 RBI. Evan Coder has 29 RBI to lead the Warriors and sports a .395 batting average. Mitchell Orr could be one of the fastest players on the field during the semifinal matchup.  Orr made a spectacular catch in centerfield against Boonville in the Sectional Final that helped the Warriors advance to the Final Four.  He is batting .316 on the season six extra base hits and 19 RBI.  Quintan Reed and Jake Bohlken will lead Smithville on the mound.  Reed has a 1.10 ERA in 76 innings pitched this spring, while Bohlken 28 strikeouts in 40 innings of work. They are a combined 11-4 on the mound this spring. 

1:30 - St. Charles (12-15) vs. Sullivan (13-13)
Sullivan has on of the top pitchers in the state in lefty and Missouri State commit, Jake Lochner.  Lochner is 7-1 this spring with a 2.85 ERA, with 98 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched.  He has also swung the bat well this season.  Hitting at a .416 clip with two home runs and 18 RBI.  Matt Foster is hitting .500 for the Eagles with seven doubles and 20 RBI, while Heath Schatz has a .319 batting average with one home run and 20 RBI.  Tristan Tredway is leds St. Charles on the mound with a 7-2 record this season.  He has a 1.70 ERA in 61.2 innings pitched with 68 strikeouts and just 15 walks.  Mike Looney is the leads the Pirates offensively with a .411 batting average, eight doubles and 13 runs driven in. 

Class 5
4:30 - #3 Staley (26-4) vs. #6 Eureka (26-4)
Eureka's Blake Clynes, Bo Highfill and Nate Witherspoon are a force to reckoned with on the mound.  All have an ERA under 2.00 and over 40 innings pitched.  Highfill leads the way with an 8-1 record, 45 strikeouts and 16 walks in 52.2 inning pitched, surrendering 13 runs and 39 hits. Clynes sports a 4-1 record with 62 strikeouts, 11 walks and 12 earned runs in 51.7 innings of work.  Witherspoon is 6-1 on the season with 45 strikeouts and 11 walks in 42 innings. Highfill and Clynes are among the offensive leaders as well.  Clynes is batting .385 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI, while Highfill is hitting .395 with 15 RBI.  Andrew Colin leads the Wildcats with a .402 average, seven doubles and 22 RBI.  Hunter Swift has been nearly unhittable for Staley in the two sectional games.  Swift carried a no hitter into the seventh in a 3-0 win over Lee's Summit and worked a three-up, three-down seventh to earn the save in a 1-0 win over Liberty North. The Falcons are strong and fast offensively. Speedy Conrad McMahon leads off and sets the table for power hitters, Parker Mertz and Jordan Robben in the middle of the order.  Staley also has several juniors in the line-up contributing to the Falcons success this season in Jack Duffy, Sean Cooley, and Ross Messina. Duffy an athletic left-handed hitting centerfielder committed to Missouri State.  Messina, on of the state's top shortstops carries a commitment to Arkansas State. Cooley, a left-handed hitting catcher, is among of the top catchers in the 2016 class.

7:00 - #5 Christian Brothers College (30-7) vs. Kickapoo (24-8)
CBC is led by Missouri's top player in Matt Vierling.  The Notre Dame commit sports a 7-0 record on the mound this season with a 1.79 ERA.  He has a .435 batting average with 14 doubles, two home runs and 28 RBI. (younger brother, Mark Vierling, sports a .417 batting average, second highest on the team). Mizzou commit, Blake Charlton, has been equally dominate on the mound for the Cadets this spring.  Charlton, also 7-0 on the season, has a 1.13 ERA, with 63 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched. Shane Melbrod, an Xavier commit, will be another bat the Chiefs want to keep an eye on.  Melbrod is batting .352 with three home runs and 20 RBI.  Kickapoo does have a nice pitching staff of its own, led by Logan Wiley, Kansas State commit, and Ozark Conference Pitcher of the Year, Kaleb Schmidt.   The Chiefs have a talented junior class with utility player Kyle Giefer, OF Riley Herron and OF/DH Tristian Stevens.  Kickapoo is on a 16-game win streak, with their last loss coming to Kansas 6A State Champion, Lawrence Free State.

Saturday, June 6

10:30 - Class 4 State Championship
1:00 - Class 5 State Consolation
3:30 - Class 5 State Championship

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