Eagles Baseball Lands Third Place At State

With the bases cornered, Lucas Parsons looked to pitch Sullivan (19-10) out of a jam and win his team the Class 4 third-place hardware. It was the top of the seventh, and the Eagles had found themselves on the ropes against Father Tolton (22-8-1). 

The Trailblazers trailed 2-0 for the majority of the game but set ablaze one last attempt at a rally. Carter Henke led off Father Tolton by reaching first base on an error, then second on a passed ball and later third.

Father Tolton’s dugout chanted “ball, ball,” but Parsons refused to surrender to the noise. He was not going to let his team’s season, filled with comebacks and miracles, finish on a low note. Facing the music, Parsons maintained his cool and locked his eyes on the strike zone. 

Maxwell Keicher stepped up to bat with two Trailblazers looking to make a run for the dish. He then launched a rocket to center fielder Seth Valley, who came in clutch and snagged his seventh out for the game-winner.

The Eagles then threw up their gloves into the sky, celebrating the historic feat they had just accomplished. After a decade-long drought, Sullivan finished third in their return to the Class 4 Final Four. They first dropped their semifinal round to Logan-Rogersville (31-8) but rebounded a day later at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex. Sullivan would go on to blank Father Tolton with two runs, bringing home state bronze on Jun. 5.

Parsons took his final trip as an Eagle to the mound against Father Tolton. He pitched his third complete game of the season, throwing a heater with five strikeouts. The senior surrendered six hits but shut out the Trailblazers with zero runs and walks.

Even when his back was against the wall, Parsons was able to block out the noise and get the job done. “I don’t know how I do it,” Parsons shared. “It’s just been going on since the day I started playing baseball. I just don’t hear the noise in the background. I focus on the strike zone and where the ball goes.”

Sullivan’s winning pitcher also thanked his defense for helping shut the door on the Trailblazers. Parsons said that during the final inning, he trusted his fielders to “do what they’ve done all game” and “make the plays behind me.”

Landen Doza led off the Eagles on a high note in the bottom of the first. He smoked a grounder and clutched first base on an error, then stole second. Doza took third once Alex Toews bunted out and later landed home on Chase Blue’s sacrifice fly.

Raiden Redd was the second Eagle to cross the dish. He walked to first and second base with two outs on the board. Then, when Valley grounded, a low throw to first base allowed Redd to score.

Alongside his run, Redd also hit 1-for-2 at the plate.

Blue batted 1-for-2, dominating with an RBI, a stolen base and a single.

Nate McReynolds (1-for-3) made a single, while Toews, Mitchell Garner and Parsons each took a walk.

The Trailblazers (6) outhit Sullivan (2) in their rematch, but the Eagles picked up more walks (4) and RBIs (1) while capitalizing on errors to win. Sullivan faced Father Tolton earlier this season on Mar. 29 in a home round-robin. The Trailblazers jumped to a 4-0 lead, and the Eagles rallied to two runs in the seventh inning but came up short. 

Through all the nail-biters, bus rides and tough losses, Parsons said he learned what it took to be a leader his senior season. He explained, “Last year, we had a lot of great leaders with Gavin [Schmidt], Cam [Koch] and Dayton [Skaggs]. And this year coming in, you [are] just kind of the underdogs… and everybody thought we aren’t going to do it by losing our all-state shortstop [Schmidt].”

Despite the noise, the Eagles continued to defy the odds in 2025, soaring farther than they had in a decade. Sullivan clinched their eighth Final Four appearance in program history and collected their second third-place plaque.

The Eagles finished the season with a 19-10 record, with their highest winning percentage (65.5%) since 2014. They went 8-4 at home, 4-2 on the road and 7-4 at neutral sites. Sullivan was also the only Four Rivers team to win their district and play in Ozark.

Now, with the foundation that the nine seniors helped lay, Parsons is excited to see what the Eagles will accomplish next. He remarked, “They’ve got a bright future with the seniors coming in next year, you know, like Chase [Blue] and Mitchell [Garner]. I think they’ve got a really strong class, and they’ve got a good middle class in the sophomores and juniors with the pitching staff and the hitting... They can come back [to the Final Four] and do better than what we did this year. They just got to connect as a team and have strong leadership skills.” 

After the game, Head Coach Ian Whitson awarded Parsons with the final Most Valuable Player belt of the season.

Even though good things must come to an end, Whitson hopes his players never forget the memories they made throughout this season. He explained, “I really just hope they remember the little things like hanging out with their friends, laughing in the stretching lines, the excitement of walk-offs. I want my guys to remember those feelings and friendships made through the game of baseball.”

Whitson is sad to say goodbye to his nine seniors but could not be any prouder of the legacy they have left behind. He applauded all of the Eagles for their third-place finish and is excited about what lies ahead in the program. “I’m incredibly proud of our guys,” Whitson shared. “They’ve worked their tails off since January, and the last several years have been building towards this run. Every team every year is different, but the experience our young guys got this year is invaluable, and it should make them hungry to get back to the Final Four in years to come.”