It was a vastly different day for the North Callaway offense on Saturday.

In the California/Versailles Turf War Tournament, North Callaway defeated host California 11-0 in five innings on Friday before going to Versailles on Saturday and losing 2-1 to Eugene and 4-0 to School of the Osage (8-8) in the third-place game. The offense rattled off 11 hits on Day 1 but only combined for seven hits on Day 2.

Still, North Callaway (10-6) didn’t commit a single error in the three games and had a scoreless inning streak of 14 at one point. The Thunderbirds were dominant against California (11-5), led by Keaton Bell’s complete game of five strikeouts and four hits. Sam Pezold had three RBI and a triple, Coltyn O’Neal had two RBI, and Tucker Sheets finished with a RBI double.

AJ Haubner gave North Callaway a complete game against Eugene (12-7), pitching six innings with four hits, two strikeouts, one earned run and one walk. However, Ryan Lepper was better for Eugene in his seven innings of eight strikeouts, three walks, two hits and one run. Eugene took the lead in the sixth inning and then threw out the potential tying run at home for a game-ending double play.

O’Neal had two hits against Osage’s Chris Nicholson, who allowed five hits and two walks in six innings. Sam Pezold also went six innings for North Callaway, recording nine hits, three strikeouts, two earned runs and one walk.

North Callaway (6-0 EMO) plays at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Silex (7-4, 4-2 EMO) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Centralia caps Boonville tournament with state-ranked victory

The Boonville Wood Bat Tournament ended pretty well for Centralia baseball.

It was a losing weekend of 1-2 for the Panthers, but they defeated Class 1 No. 10 Pilot Grove 8-4 in their final game on Saturday. Centralia lost 10-0 to Boonville on Friday and 9-4 to Kirksville on Saturday.

Pilot Grove (8-5) pitchers walked 12 batters as Centralia (8-10) made them pay for the extra baserunners. Elliott McCoy and Micah Danielson each had two RBI, and Luke Waltemate, Mattie Robinson and Mike Marcellus each had one RBI. Tuckyr Pollock had a double along with Danielson but shined more in his seven innings on the mound with seven strikeouts, six hits, four unearned runs and one walk.

Centralia finished with six hits in its six-inning loss against Boonville (14-4), which saw Waltemate pick up two hits.

The Panthers were tied at 3 with Kirksville (11-8) after the third inning following a sacrifice fly from Waltemate, but the Tigers took control after that. Kirksville drew seven walks and stole seven bases against Centralia pitching, which featured Anthony Ford’s five innings of seven hits, four strikeouts, four walks and two earned runs. Henry Bohlmeyer was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Centralia (2-2 CCC) hosts Clarence Cannon Conference foe Palmyra (4-12, 2-2 CCC) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Mexico enters into challenging part of schedule, lost 8-0 at Moberly

Mexico baseball will be tested before districts.

The Bulldogs lost 8-0 at North Central Missouri Conference foe Moberly on Saturday. Mexico finished with five hits against a team that received votes in the most recent Class 4 state poll.

Mexico (12-8, 3-4 NCMC) played Class 5 Helias Catholic (9-5) on Monday prior to hosting the second-ranked team in Class 4 Blair Oaks (15-7) at 5 p.m and playing at ninth-ranked Fulton (10-4, 5-2 NCMC) at 5 p.m. the next day. Thursday. Kaden Benne and Jaydon Eldridge each had two hits as Jackson Engel pitched a complete game for Moberly (13-4, 3-2 NCMC) with eight strikeouts. 

Mexico junior varsity won 9-3 as the Bulldogs had a RBI from Ethan Johnson, Zach Jahn, Cooper Rowe, Hunter Burnett, Brayden Arnold and Wyatt Troesser.