Successful Season Comes To An End
By Wyatt Hardy
John Burroughs destroyed the Eagles’ playoff chances on Tuesday in the Class 4 sectionals at McConnell Field and Sister Baseball Stands in Ladue, MO. The Bombers won 10-0 in just 5 innings and moved on to the quarterfinals. Being the underdogs, the Eagles performed to their best ability trying to stop their high-powered offense.
Sullivan was rolling off enormous wins at Owensville, going 8-2 against Salem and defeating the St. James Tigers by a whopping 16-15. The chemistry between the offense and defense was unlike anything seen before the playoffs, and they were ready to blow out any other competition.
The match started off very promising. Eagles got the ball and Cambrian Koch singled to left fielder William Chapman. But the tides quickly turned and pitcher Julian Schenck completed three straight strikeouts for Gavin Schmidt, Chase Blue and Dayton Skaggs.
Bottom of the 1st, Koch stepped onto the mound, needing to get a hold of John Burroughs. Jack Enger swung a ground ball to center fielder Seth Valley, allowing two Bombers to score. Then Tucker Desloge singled on a fly ball to right fielder Lucas Parsons, giving enough time for Chapman to score. Brady Schenck doubled on a fly ball hopping off the fence to left fielder Alex Toews, allowing B. Desloge to score. Going over 30 pitches, Koch finally got a third strikeout and ended the Bombers’ drive of five unanswered runs with no errors.
At the bottom of the 3rd inning, T. Desloge swung into a fielder’s choice from shortstop Schmidt to second baseman Nolan Ulrich. Chapman made it to home base, now 6-0.
Going into the 5th inning, Sullivan changed up their pitching and field positions, hoping to hold John Burroughs down for the rest of the game. Schmidt was now on the mound, a lucky charm with a record of 5-1 in the games he pitched. With Chapman and Enger out on the bases, T. Desloge homered on a fly ball to right field, bringing the score up to 9-0.
With one more run, the Bombers would be crowned the victors. Now or never, Sullivan needed a miracle to stay in this game and advance to the quarterfinals. Calvin Gelle hit a hard ground ball to left fielder Valley, giving enough time for B. Schenck to run to home plate, ending a quick ballgame at 10-0.
Sullivan finished their season 16-11 and lost as persistent underdogs to the high-powered Bombers. Schmidt reflects on the loss, saying that, “They were a quality team... We had a few defensive mistakes and didn’t hit as well as we should have.”
They will lose talented seniors next year such as Jordan Rice, Lane Blankenship and Kaleb Keen, who have left a huge mark on Sullivan’s legacy. But, despite that, the Eagles baseball team has a very bright future ahead with newcomers such as Chase Blue, Dayton Skaggs and Nolan Ulrich, who are developing into game-changers. Head coach Ian Whitson is very excited, claiming that, “This year we got a taste of what it’s like to play in the state playoffs. While it stings that our season ended, I believe this will only help motivate our boys next year to be on the same level as what’s needed to compete at that stage in the season.”