The Missouri High School playoff continue, with sectional play now complete in Class 4 and 5, and the Class 1, 2, and 3 Final Four taking shape.

In Class 1, three of the four Final Four teams from 2012 advance again with Oran, Sturgeon, and Santa Fe recording victories.

The sectional round in Classes 4 and 5 are now complete, with Final Four berts on the line today. A look at yesterday's sectional action.
Class 5 Sectionals
Willard 10   Branson 4
Willard reaches the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, defeating Branson 10-4 and will take on Rock Bridge to try and advance to their second final four in a row. Chanse Quinlan led the Willard offense going 2-for- 4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Michael Pfeifer and Kyle Smith each chipped in with two runs driven. Smith also picked up the win on the mound

A six run fifth inning game erased a 3-0 deficit. Quinlan’s two RBI double tied the score after Keaton Presley’s RBI single. Luke Latham then delivered an RBI single, scoring Michael Pfeifer to give Willard a 4-3 lead.

Class 4 sectionals
Notre Dame 10   Ste. Genevieve 0
Notre Dame advances to the quarterfinals to face Westminster after defeating Ste. Genevieve 10-0. The game was scoreless through four innings, with Notre Dame’s Justin Landewee and Ste. Genevieve’s Andrew Suiter matching each other out for out.

Notre Dame bats came alive in the top of the fifth. An RBI single by Josh Haggerty got the scoring started, and Notre Dame plated another run on a bases loaded walk to Chase Simmons. The next batter, Cody DeBrock, broke the game wide open with a grand slam to right field, putting Notre Dame up 6-0. Griffin Seibert and Haggerty drove home runs in the top of the 6^th to extend the lead to 8-0 and Josh Jansen drove home a run in the seventh and Stephen Brennan scored on a wild pitch to finish the Notre Dame scoring. 

Logan-Rogersville 8   Sullivan 6
After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, Logan-Rogersville scored in five of the next six innings and held off Sullivan late in the game to reach the quarterfinals, where they will face off against Warrensburg Justin King was the winning pitcher for Rogersville.

Warrensburg 8   Seneca 5 (10 innings)
Warrensburg scored three runs in the top of the 10^th inning to knock off Seneca 8-5 and advance to the quarterfinals. A bases loaded RBI single by Jared Allnut in the top of the eighth broke a 5-5 tie followed by a bases loaded walk to Matt Mayden and RBI double by Kyle Denker, giving Warrensburg an 8-5 lead. Brett Marr picked up the win in relief, throwing four scoreless innings, striking out five.

All three out of four Final Four berts have been earned in each Class 1, 2, and 3. Here is a look at who is advancing:
Class 3 quarterfinals
Springfield Catholic 7   Fair Grove 2
Springfield Catholic returns to the Final Four for the second time in the last three years (2011 being the last appearance) by shutting down Fair Grove. Matthew Tipton threw a complete game, striking out eight and finding a way to work out of jams with runners in scoring position in the first two innings. Tipton also collected an RBI to help himself, and Eric Atwell chipped in with two RBIs. Catholic took an early lead and never looked back, providing Tipton a cushion to work with. Catholic will face either St. Pius X (Festus) or New Madrid Central in the semi-finals next week. 

Hallsville 4   Lutheran North 2
Nathan Katz and Brendan Beatty combined to hold off Lutheran North is quarterfinal play and advance to the Semi-Finals. Beatty, in relief, fanned seven of the nine hitters he faces to preserve a 3-2 lead. Beatty also scored the go ahead run for Hallsville in the fifth inning. Hallsville will face Fatima in the semi-finals 

Fatima 7   Maryville 2
Fatima plated two runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to an early lead, sending seven runners to the plate in the frame. Fatima extended their lead to 5-0 in the third inning after Reid Kesel lead off with a triple and came around to score on Ryan Mebruer’s single. Back to back singles drove home two more runs. Mebruer drove home another run in the fourth on an RBI double. Fatima will face Hallsville with a Class 3 championship game berth on the line.

 

Class 2
Holcomb 5   Chaffee 2
Holcomb capitalized on Chaffee miscues en route to earning a Final Four birth in Class 2. With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, Holcomb scored two on an errant throw by the Chaffee third baseman. The big blow of the game came in the fifth, on Michael Glover’s third hit of the game, a two run homerun in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Cameron Clark got the win for Holcomb, going the distance scattering two hits and striking out five. 

Hartville 9   Billings 5 

Canton 8   Russellville 7 (8 innings) 

Class 1
Oran 9   Naylor 1
Oran earned their third consecutive Final Four appearance, making easy work of Naylor 9 to 1. Oran came out swinging, with Seth Ressel leading the game off with a double on the first pitch he saw and Kody Moore driving Ressel home on the very next pitch. Moore was at it again in the second, with a two run scoring double to extend the lead to 3-1. In the third inning, Oran added two more runs on a Jacob Priggel solo home run and a passed ball scoring Hunter Schlosser from third. Four more runs would cross the plate in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Thomas Tankler smacked an RBI double and Moore drove home two more runs with his second double and third hit of the day.

Moore was the difference maker for Oran, throwing six and a third innings, allowing five hits and fanning six. He was also 3-for-4 at the plate, with two doubles and five RBIs. 

Sturgeon 3   New Franklin 3
Sturgeon advances to the final four for the second consecutive year, and will face Oran in the semi-finals. Oran defeated Sturgeon in the consolation game last year

Santa Fe 6   Northeast (Cairo) 5 (8 innings)Defending Class 1 champions Santa Fe advances for the second year in a row to the Final Four and will face the winner of the Weaubleau/Dadeville contest scheduled for today.