Paul Halfacre
The final week of the Missouri high school baseball season has arrived. Here is a primer for St. Louis area teams in the hunt for state titles at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.
Championship games schedule: Class 6, 1 p.m. Saturday; Class 5, 7 p.m. Saturday; Class 4, 1 p.m. Thursday; Class 3, 7 p.m. Thursday.
Class 6 semifinals
When:10 a.m. Friday.
Records:Lafayette 24-12; Liberty North 32-8.
On Lafayette:In the state semifinals for the first time since 2000. Landon Matthews leads team with a 7-1 record and a 1.21 ERA in 52 innings pitched. Renn Fiss and Drew Pickering are second and third on the team with 39 and 35 innings pitched. Xander Schmitt leads team with 24 RBI and a .327 batting average. Paul Pratte and Michael Callahan have eight and six doubles for the Lancers.
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On Liberty North:Two-time defending Class 6 champions got six strong innings from Gabe Perry in their 8-3 victory over Lee's Summit in the quarterfinal round. Trey Snyder 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Of note: Liberty North beat Lafayette 5-4 on opening day of season in only meeting between programs.
Previous state semifinal appearances: Lafayette 7 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1987, 2000); Liberty North 2 (2022, 2023).
State championships: Lafayette 3 (1970, 1971, 1972); Liberty North 2 (2022, 2023).
When:1 p.m. Friday.
Records:Francis Howell 30-10; Blue Springs 26-11.
On Francis Howell:For the third successive season, Francis Howell is back in the semifinal round. A three-headed monster at the top of the pitching rotation led by senior Alex Bryan. Bryan, Adam Shipley and Dylan Curtis are a combined 19-1 with a 1.02 ERA and 129 strikeouts. Matthew Rauser (32) and Tytus Cissell lead the offense.
On Blue Springs:Cole Gibler collected nine strikeouts in six innings in a 2-0 win over Glendale in the quarterfinal round. He also went 2-for-2 at the plate for the Wildcats.
Of note: Howell is 2-0 against Blue Springs in nonconference games played in 2019 and 2022.
Previous state semifinal appearances: Francis Howell 13 (1963, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2023); Blue Springs 3 (1988, 1998, 1999, 2007).
State championships: Francis Howell 4 (2003, 2011, 2013, 2016); Blue Springs South 2 (1999, 2007).
Class 5 semifinals
When:4 p.m. Friday.
Records:Webster Groves 20-13; Kearney 29-7.
On Webster Groves:Jackson Torbit has been on fire recently for the Statesmen. Torbit has faced down two defending state champions (John Burroughs, Festus) and is 2-0 in those games. He has thrown 13 1-3 shutout innings with 18 strikeouts and only given up two hits. Drew Hauser has 21 RBI with a .298 batting average. Evan Mager holds a .429 batting average with two home runs and a .619 slugging.
On Kearney:Junior Elijah Helberg pitched a four-hit complete-game shutout in a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Webb City. Manny Linthacum went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win.
Of note: Teams are meeting for the first time since 2015, when Kearney swept a nonconference doubleheader at Webster Groves.
Previous state semifinal appearances: Webster Groves 1 (1969); Kearney 1 (1998).
State championships: Webster Groves 0; Kearney 1 (1998).
When:7 p.m. Friday.
Records:Fort Zumwalt South 30-4; Willard 32-5.
On Fort Zumwalt South:The Bulldogs are back in the semifinal round for the third time in the last four years. Jacksen Tankersley leads the team with .423 batting average and 31 RBI. Connor Mendell has 31 RBI and two home runs. Carter Cox and Connor Henke are 16-1 on the mound with a combined 1.31 ERA.
On Willard:Cameron Jennings outdueled Borgia senior and Xavier commit Jack Nobe in the quarterfinals.Hayden Rakestraw and Jacob Hearon collected hits for Willard.
Of note: Rematch of Willard's 4-3 victory against Zumwalt South in eight innings in a state semifinal in 2021.
Previous state semifinal appearances: Zumwalt South 4 (1996, 2009, 2021, 2023); Willard 7 (1991, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022).
State championships: Zumwalt South 1 (2009); Willard 1 (2021).
Class 4 semifinals
When:10 a.m. Wednesday.
Records:MICDS 18-6; Benton 31-3.
On MICDS:For the first time since 2016, MICDS is in the semifinal round. The Rams are led at the plate by Purdue University commit Henry Cordes, who has 24 RBI. Henry Clay (18) and Colin Hutton (15) round out the top three batters. Cordes and Andrew Clifford lead the pitching staff with 90+ innings together. They are a combined 14-1 and have only given up 21 earned runs and have 116 strikeouts.
On Benton:In the semifinals for the first time since 2007. Got a 16-0 run-rule victory in the Class 4 quarterfinal round with Jackson Kanacsky pitching a three-inning no-hitter. Chris Coy went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Previous state semifinal appearances: MICDS 2 (2004, 2016); Benton 3 (1991, 2005, 2007).
State championships: MICDS 1 (2016); Benton 1 (2007).
When:1 p.m. Wednesday.
Records:Lutheran St. Charles 9-14; Blair Oaks 24-13.
On Lutheran St. Charles:The Cougars in the semifinals for only the second time. Sophom*ore Anden Hyde leads the offense with a .542 batting average. Hyde also has 11 RBI, while senior Brodie Short leads the team with 18 RBI and three home runs. Short has two complete games in the postseason and leads the team with a 4-1 record and a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings pitched.
On Blair Oaks:Warren Davis leads the Falcons with a .355 batting average while Harrison Lear leads the team with 23 RBI. Jacob Tellman has a team-high 54 innings pitched. He also has a .13 ERA with 76 strikeouts.
Of note:Blair Oaks has won five of six meetings in the series, all since 2014. The teams last played in 2021.
Previous state semifinal appearances: Lutheran St. Charles 1 (2015); Blair Oaks 4 (2006, 2007, 2019, 2021).
State championships: Lutheran St. Charles 0; Blair Oaks 3 (2006, 2007, 2019).
Class 3 semifinals
When:7 p.m. Wednesday.
Records:duch*esne 22-10; Licking 25-3.
On duch*esne: The Pioneers are back in the semifinal round for the first time in 40 years. duch*esne battered out 13 hits in a Class 3 quarterfinal victory against North Callaway. Five duch*esne batters have collected over 20 RBI, with Jackson Nikodym leading the way with 30 RBI. Nikodym and TJ Griese lead the pitching staff and are a combined 9-2 on the mound with a 2.09 ERA in 107 innings pitched.
On Licking:The reigning Class 3 state champions had to eke out an 12-11 victory over Forsyth in the quarterfinal round. Kale Cook got the walk-off winner with an RBI double in the seventh inning. Rusty Buckner went 3-for-4 with four RBI in the win.
Of note: Both teams were state runners-up in 1983, duch*esne in 3A and Licking in 2A.
Previous state semifinal appearances: duch*esne 2 (1983, 1984); Licking 9 (1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2003, 2023).
State championships: duch*esne 1 (1984); Licking 3 (1988, 1989, 2023).
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Paul Halfacre
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