By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
OZARK — For a team that has traveled further than nearly each of the ones that have preceded it, Hollister’s chance to play for a state title may have come down to 90 feet.
The Tigers were eliminated from championship contention after a seventh-inning rally came up just short in a 3-2 loss to Blair Oaks in a Class 4 semifinal on Wednesday at U.S. Ballpark.
Playing in the Final Four for just the third time in school history — and for the first time since 2006 — the Tigers trailed 3-0 entering the final inning before hitting back-to-back one-out triples to pull within a run and had the tying run at third base with the heart of the order due up.
But Hollister was unable to generate another timely hit and stranded the runner as Blair Oaks advanced to Thursday’s championship game against Kennett on this same field. The Tigers will face Lafayette (St. Joseph) at 4 p.m. in the third-place game, with the title game to follow.
A victory would give Hollister a third-place finish for the third time in the history of the program, as the Tigers also placed third in semifinal appearances in 2001 and 2006.
“We still have a game tomorrow,” Hollister coach Trent Oxenreider said. “I told the kids down there this really (stinks) but you have to come ready to play tomorrow and beat someone.”
Blair Oaks sophomore Wil Libbert struck out 10 and allowed just three hits in 5-1/3 scoreless innings. But thanks to those singles, a walk, a hit batsman and two errors, Hollister got a pair of runners aboard in each of the first three innings. The Tigers stranded all of them, plus two in the sixth and the would-be tying run in the seventh for a total of nine runners on the night.
“We had chances earlier in the game to score runs and in big games like this, you have to take advantage of that because their guy on the mound is really, really good,” Oxenreider said. “He did a really good job. We just didn’t get big hits tonight and we had a chance there at the end with some guys up and just didn’t get it done.”
The Tigers (25-6) fell behind 3-0 in the second inning as Blair Oaks used a combination of excellent baserunning and Hollister miscues to score all of the runs it would ultimately need.
Ian Nolph reached second after the Tigers made two errors on the same play, then moved to third on a wild pitch. Levi Haney walked and got caught in a brief rundown, but escaped when Nolph darted home, drew a throw to the plate and slid around a tag for the first run.
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Joshua Isaacs followed with another walk and the Falcons executed a double steal to give them runners on second and third with one out.
Hollister starter Landon Richards struck out the next batter, but the Tigers dropped the ball and needed to throw the batter out at first base. Because of that, Haney was able to run home and Isaacs safely moved to third. He scored later in the frame on another errant pitch.
That was all the Falcons (28-5) could generate against Richards, who threw five innings, struck out 11 and allowed just two hits and three walks in the final start of his varsity career.
“He’s been a bulldog all year,” Oxenreider said. “They did a good job of laying off of some pitches I felt like were good pitches. They were balls, but they did a really good job. He’s a grinder. He’s going to give everything he’s got and max out (his pitch count) every night.”
That give-it-all attitude included lending one of his cleats to reliever Clay Kemp.
Kemp’s footwear made it hard to find traction on the turf pitcher’s mound and he slipped multiple times during his warm-up throws. Richards removed one of his shoes and gave it to Kemp, who promptly retired all six batters he faced in two scoreless innings of relief.
“That’s a different thing when you can’t wear metal spikes and try to pitch — especially on turf. Ended up putting a shoe that was about two sizes too small on and was able to land. Might have to be something we do next year,” Oxenreider quipped.
Though Kemp’s cleats were mismatched, he was able to match Richards’ intensity.
The two were Hollister’s most-used pitchers this season, as the duo combined to throw over 100 innings and go 14-3 through the end of the district tournament.
“We knew going in that it was probably going to take both to win,” Oxenreider said. “I mean, we gave ourselves a chance. Landon kept it to where it was after our defensive miscues and Clay came in and didn’t skip a beat. He just came in throwing strikes and challenging up every pitch.”
While Kemp held the line, Hollister fared much better against the Blair Oaks bullpen.
Cade Stockman recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning without incident, but Hollister rallied against him in the bottom of the seventh.
Ethan Wright drew a leadoff walk and Konner Hatfield crushed a one-out triple to the gap in left-center, getting the Tigers on the scoreboard. Richards followed with another triple that the centerfielder misplayed and the ball got behind him. Hatfield scored easily, but Blair Oaks got the ball in quickly enough for Oxenreider to hold Richards at third with one out.
With clean-up batter Colby Teaster and catcher Cole Jones due up, it was an easy decision.
“We were just watching the throw,” Oxenreider said. “I saw their trail defender right there in line with it, so we were going to hold him down. There’s no reason to run that out with your four (and) five up next.”
But Teaster hit a ground ball back to Stockman, who checked Richards before throwing to first for an out. Again, the Tigers held the runner rather than risk a close play at the plate.
“It had to be a 100 percent read from the get-go,” Oxenreider said. “We were talking. We had two different chances to score him with two different hitters and the pitcher made a good play on the ball. We really had to shut it down there.”
Stockman then got the next batter he faced to pop out, slamming the door on Hollister’s rally.
While the tying run was so close at the end of the game, the Tigers were not lamenting that runner any more than any of the other eight they stranded throughout the game.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on — being clutch in clutch situations,” Richards said. “Sadly, we didn’t get the job done in earlier innings whenever we had runners in scoring position and didn’t get a hit.”
Hollister now prepares to face a Lafayette (St. Joseph) team with a 19-8 record that is led by Oklahoma commit Brayden Luikart. The senior threw into the seventh inning in the Fighting Irish’s semifinal before exiting due to pitch count restrictions, and Kennett rallied for nine runs against the bullpen to turn a two-run deficit into a 11-4 victory.
Reese Robinett had a three-run home run during Kennett’s comeback and earned the win on the mound. The junior and sophomore teammate Riley Henfling have committed to Arkansas.
The Tigers won’t have to face Luikart on the mound, but he was also leading the Fighting Irish with a .580 average through the district tournament.
Hollister’s senior leaders — Richards, Hatfield, Teaster and Jones — are focused on securing a win Thursday, which would match the best finish in program history. It would also ensure they end their time at Hollister with a victory.
“Our message is going to be go have as much fun as we possibly can because it’s our last game,” Richards said. “And we normally win a lot of the games when we have fun.”
