District baseball

Community R-6 redeemed in 3-0 victory vs Cairo, winning first district title since 2001

Community R-6 rejoiced for its redemption on Tuesday.

Community R-6 vs Cairo Photo Gallery

In the Class 1 District 12 championship game at Battle High School in Columbia, the Trojans defeated Central Activities Conference powerhouse and rival Cairo 3-0 behind seven innings of 10 strikeouts and five hits allowed by Mason Carroll, pitching Community to its first district title since 2001. 

“During practice, we practiced celebrating district championship wins as a joke,” senior Gavin Allen said. “We finally did it. Four years. COVID season freshman year so didn’t get to play. Sophomore year, lost in the championship. Last year, lost to Higbee. It feels so good.”

Head coach Joel Krato said he has asked his team whether they were playing at a “district championship level” all year and thinks that the Trojans (17-5) are indeed playing to that level while bringing a couple of the best arms in Class 1 to the table. Cairo (12-7) is a team that has experienced much success, including a third-place state trophy last year and more recently a 5-4 victory in nine innings against Community. That extra-inning loss prevented the Trojans from taking the conference title but felt bigger things were on the horizon.

“We’ve been talking about we’re the redeem team,” Krato said. “We watched the documentary about the 2008 Olympics (gold medal basketball team), and we had a lot of things to redeem. Cairo beat us to win the conference championship, and I said, ‘Boys, it sucks to lose conference, but would you rather have conference or districts? We’ll get a chance to redeem ourselves.”

After knocking off three college arms in less than 24 hours and rising atop the “hardest Class 1 district in the state,” Krato said he likes his team’s chances against anybody they face in the future, starting with the Class 1 District 11 champion on Monday.

Mexico makes third time charm against state-ranked Hallsville, advance to district title game with 6-1 victory

All season, Mexico has faced state-ranked competition. Sometimes twice.

Tuesday's Class 4 District 7 semifinal with Hallsville in Macon was the Bulldogs' third game against the state No. 9 Indians, winning this time 6-1 and earning a spot in Thursday's 6 p.m. championship game against Macon (21-6), who defeated Kirksville 4-3 on Tuesday. Andrew Runge and Tyler Thoenen each hit home runs while Sam Ryan pitched 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts, three walks, two hits and an unearned run. 

Until districts, Mexico (10-18) hadn't been able to put together crooked-number innings with extra-base power. The Buldogs lost 7-4 and 4-3 to Hallsville (19-7) previously but made it clear that wasn't going to be the case, starting in the third inning on Tuesday. Runge hit a RBI single as part of a three-run inning before smacking a two-RBI home run in the next inning. 

Thoenen added a solo shot in the seventh inning to go with his double and 2-for-4 at the plate. Runge finished 2-for-2 with three RBI, two runs and one walk. 

State golf

Van-Far at Class 1 state meet at Country Club of Missouri in Columbia

For their first appearances, Van-Far's Cody Smith and Pacey Reading did well Monday and Tuesday at the Class 1 state golf tournament at Country Club of Missouri in Columbia.

Van-Far State Golf Photo Gallery

The senior Smith and the freshman Reading were represented Van-Far at a state tournament for the first time since 2019. Smith finished 33rd with a 179, or 35-over par and 10 strokes out from a top-15 state medal, and Reading was in a four-way tie for 59th out of 79 golfers with a 193.

After Day 1, Smith was tied for 30th after shooting a 91 and Reading was tied for 53rd with a 97. Smith had seven bogeys or worse on the back nine on Monday but followed that up with three bogeys on the same nine holes a day later along with a birdie but struggled on the front nine for an 88 second-day score. Reading had a couple long holes on each day but stayed steady beyond that with a better 96 on Day 2.

Asher Rust, of Ash Grove, won the individual district title with a 149, or five-over par, and Salisbury won the team title with a 675 by 24 strokes.

Missouri Military Academy, North Callaway at Class 2 meet at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield

Missouri Military Academy's Gabriel Ontiveros nearly matched his scores from his two days at the Class 2 state tournament on Monday and Tuesday at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.

The scores weren't quite enough for all-state status as the first-time state qualifier finished four strokes away from a state medal. North Callaway senior Davis Althiser also made his first state appearance at the Class 2 meet, finishing in a tie for 46th out of a 78-golfer field.

Ontiveros shot a 171, or 27-over par, in a tie for 20th, improving his 86 Day 1 score by a stroke. He was missing out on medal status by two strokes after Monday and then cut down on the bogeys or worse results on Tuesday, sinking a birdie each day.

Althiser sat in an eight-way tie for 43rd after a first-day score of 92 and fell down three spots after a better 91 on Day 2. Althiser had six results of double bogey or worse on Monday and then four such results on Tuesday.

Summit Christian Academy's Peyton Smith won the individual state title with a 142, or two-under par, to just beat out California's William Boyd by a stroke. Summit Christian beat out California for the team title as well with a 630 and was better by 32 strokes.

Look for the full stories in the Saturday, May 20, 2023, edition of the Mexico Ledger.