Missouri Class 5 baseball semifinals: Festus ends Willard's championship reign with extra-inning win; Platte County goes for first championship in 20 years

Tigers claim win against Willard with wild ending

By Cody Thorn 

Photos courtesy of Ron and Lisa Rigdon, Cheap Seats Photo

OZARK — The only school with a chance to repeat saw that opportunity walk away — literally.

Festus third baseman Conner McDonald drew a bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 win against Willard, the defending Class 5 champions, in the first Class 5 semifinal game on Friday night at U.S. Baseball Park.

Within seconds, Tyler Phillips sprinted down the third-base line to touch home and that led to a celebration.

After a few moments of jumping up and down, McDonald went over to touch first base.

However, Willard coach Scott McGee disagreed with how the game ended.

“You know it's on ball four you have to go and touch the next base and the guy going from second to third, he didn't ever get there," McGee said. "And the guy from home to first base also didn't get there because he left the baseline with his teammates. You know, but regardless, you know we just didn't score enough to win. You go eight innings and you just score three runs. You got to do a better job offensively.

"Hey, you can't take anything away from Festus. Festus played really well. It's just an unfortunate way. ... I wish that the players could have decided the game. That’s just the way it was.”

Willard (31-8) was looking to become the first Class 5 or Class 6 squad to repeat as champion since the Missouri State High School Activities Association expanded to six classes.

Aurora, in Class 4, was the last team to repeat in any class after winning in 2017 and again in 2018.

Festus drew four walks in the bottom of the eighth inning, starting with Kaleb Kennedy. Phillips went in to run for him and stole second base.

Willard then got outs on a strikeout and a fly ball, while Phillips was still standing on second base.

Jackson Gross, the No. 2 hitter, drew a walk on a full count, and as the Willard catcher and coaching staff was arguing what appeared to be a close call on a non-strike, Phillips stole third base.

On a 3-1 count on Hayden Bates, McGee chose to intentionally walk him to load the bases. Bates was 3-for-3 at the plate.

Willard went to the bullpen and brought in Cooper Wilken for the second time. He started the game and reentered in the sixth and eighth innings.

He had a 2-2 count on McDonald before throwing two straight balls to end the game.

“We are the kind of team that might bend but they don’t break, I think that was the key,” Festus coach Jeff Montgomery said. “We didn’t panic.

"Being the home team really helped us there to have the hammer in the bottom of the inning. We didn’t make mental mistakes, they forced it, but we are lucky we didn’t.”

The Tigers (26-8) are headed to the state title game for the second time in school history. The last came in 1990, and the team lost to Fulton in the 3A title showdown.

Each team scored two runs in the first and then matched each other with a run in the third inning.

Designated hitter Owen Bushnell had a two-run single for Willard in the first inning with two outs. Festus got runs on a sac fly by Tyler Bizzle and a dropped third strike.

In the third, Nathan Moore hit another sac fly for Festus after Willard took a short-lived 3-2 lead on Kyden McMain’s RBI single.

Willard was held to only three hits by the tandem of Mason Schirmer, a freshman who is already committed to Missouri, and Moore. Schirmer gave up three hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings, while Moore went 2 2/3 hitless innings and struck out three.

Willard’s Wilken and Kade Bieller combined for 13 strikeouts.

Platte County 5, Ft. Zumwalt East 3

The Pirates rallied from an early deficit to pick up a win in the other Class 5 semifinal game that ended late Friday night.

Platte County advanced to the school’s second-ever berth in the finals. The first came in 2002, winning the Class 3A title that year.

The Lions (23-10) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and with two outs in the second, the Pirates went to the bullpen. Landon Fulk, a Johnson County (Kansas) Community College signee, got the final out of the inning.

The right-handed hurler went 4 2/3 innings and exited with one out in the seventh. He picked up his team-high fifth win by fanning six and giving up one run.

Platte County took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second. Senior catcher Jakob Knudsen drove in two with a single and Dayne Wimberly’s fielder’s choice gave the Pirates their first lead.

The Lions tied it in the top of the third on Parker Davis’ RBI single.

Knudsen came up with another two-run single in the bottom of the third. That accounted for the final run of the game for either team.

Knudsen and first baseman Dylan Robertson each had two hits for the Pirates, who managed six.

Ft. Zumwalt East finished with eight hits, two each by Davis, Jackson Carter and Jackson Penn.

Carter doubled and went to third on a wild pitch in the fifth but was left stranded. Ft. Zumwalt East had a runner thrown out at home in the sixth on a play from Wimberly to Knudsen.

The Lions got a one-out walk from Alex Huebner and Platte County went to the pen again. Sophomore left-hander Brayden Carter got a fly ball and ground out to end the game, earning the save.