WEBB CITY, Mo. — Second-ranked Webb City saw its impressive season come to an end on Saturday after the top-seeded Cardinals fell 2-0 to third-seeded Glendale in the Class 5 District 6 championship game at Chuck Barnes Field.
Neither the Falcons (20-11) nor Cardinals were able to cash in on their limited scoring opportunities through the first four scoreless innings. Glendale took the advantage in the pitcher’s duel after scoring a two-out run in the top of the fifth. After holding Webb City at bay in the last of the sixth, the Falcons added another single tally in the seventh with two outs on the way to the win.
“They had a couple of timely hits when they had guys in scoring position,” Webb City coach Flave Darnell said. “We often talk about how pitching and defense wins in the playoffs. (Glendale) played really good defense and pitched it really well. (Isaac Wells) is a heck of a pitcher. … They have been playing really well. We have been playing really well. They just had a couple more timely hits than we did tonight.”
Webb City finishes the season with a 26-6 record. The Cardinals’ loss also snapped a 12-game win streak that dated back to an 11-5 victory over Carl Junction on April 27.
“It’s unfortunate that only one team wins at the end,” Darnell said of the season from his Cardinals. “I think we finished 26-6 and all of those six losses were really close. That’s just kind of the way it goes with baseball sometimes. It just doesn’t go your way.”
SAYING GOODBYE
The Cardinals graduate seven seniors from this year’s squad—Matt Woodmansee, Shane Noel, Cole Gayman, Treghan Parker, Devrin Weathers, Eli Goddard and Noah Mitchell.
“It’s an awesome class,” Darnell said. “They are awesome kids and awesome players. They were a joy to coach and are going to do great things at the next level.”
ON THE MOUND
Isaac Wells earned the win for Glendale, pitching a complete-game shutout. He scattered three hits, walked two and struck out six in seven innings.
Making the final start of his prep career, Gayman — a Missouri Southern commit — was saddled with the complete-game loss after allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
“Cole is a competitor,” Darnell said. “He kept getting better as the year went on. He did a really good job tonight. If you said he was only going to give up two runs entering that game, you would have taken that.”
GAME ACTION
Glendale had runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings, but Gayman didn’t waver. He induced a fly out followed by a swinging strikeout to strand runners at first and second in the first inning. After Glendale’s DJ Cofield doubled to lead off the second inning, Gayman forced a fly out and back to back strikeouts to end the threat.
Webb City drew a pair of hit-by-pitches in the second inning and had a leadoff double in the third by Eric Fitch, but none of the runners ever touched third base.
The Falcons broke through in the fifth inning after Zach Beatty drew a two-out walk before coming around to score on an RBI double to left by Brooks Kettering to make the score 1-0.
Fitch singled through the left side to lead off the last of the sixth for the Cardinals before moving to second on a one-out walk from Parker. The threat ended there after Webb City bounced into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Carter Lewis reached on an error to kick off Glendale’s half of the seventh inning. Lewis came around to score with two outs in the inning on a single to left from Beatty to push the lead to 2-0.
Woodmansee singled on the infield up the middle for Webb City in the bottom of the seventh, but a fly out, lineout and strikeout ended the game.
IN THE BOX
Beatty and Cofield, who doubled, each had two hits to lead Glendale. Beatty scored once and drove in a run. Kettering doubled and finished with one RBI.
Fitch had two hits, including a double, to lead the Cardinals at the plate. Woodmansee went 1-for-3 at the plate.
