By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
This one’s for the beloved former player and coach known as “Atch”.
This one’s for all the past teams that got so close.
This one’s for the Willard community.
State champions. Finally.
With a walk-off hit from sophomore Kyden McMain in the bottom of the seventh, Willard defeated Grain Valley 9-8 in the Class 5 state championship game at US Ballpark in Ozark.
The victory marks the first team state championship for Willard High School in any boys’ sport.
“I just tried to be calm out there,” McMain said. “I knew I was capable and just had to stay in that mindset. We’ve never had a state championship before, so to do it for our seniors and our team and all the adversity we’ve gone through, it was pretty cool.”
The Tigers trailed 8-7 entering the seventh, but tied it on Elliott Friend’s RBI single.
Two batters later, McMain, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Hitting just .231 on the season, he singled through the right side to score Kade Biellier.
McMain’s teammates thanked him with a celebratory dogpile.
“It’s crazy with that kid,” said Willard senior and starting pitcher Gavin Burk. “He hasn’t had a lot of at-bats this year, he gets pinch-hit for and then he has the biggest at-bat of his life and comes through.”
There were no shortage of meaningful storylines for Willard.
The Tigers finally have a state championship on the boys’ side. They got closure after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the 2019 semifinals and a canceled 2020 season.
Maybe most of it all: They won it for Justin Atchison, a 2013 Willard graduate and former assistant coach. He died in the fall of 2018 in a hunting accident.
Atchison coached a few of Willard’s current players, including senior Blake Hultgren.
“He was one of the most important people in my life,” Hultgren said. “He’s who I aspire to be. He’s special to me… I know he’s up there smiling at us all.
“I don’t even know how to explain (winning state). I’m at a loss for words. It’s amazing.”
Rather than retire Atchison’s jersey, the Tigers keep his legacy going by assigning No. 4 to a current player.
Hultgren wore No. 4 this season.
“We give that number to the player we feel best represents Atch in their lives,” said Willard coach Scott McGee. “If you show up to Willard games, the guy that’s wearing No. 4 is the person we think represents Atch the most.
“We think about him every day. It’s not just the players. Anybody who knew Atch would tell you what a great person he was. His legacy has lived on through so many people.”
How Willard won its first state championship will be talked about for a long time.
The Tigers scored in each of the first four innings, including three runs in the fourth. Hayden Rakestraw had an RBI single and Hultgren had a sac-fly RBI that put Willard ahead 7-2.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Grain Valley starter Riley Brown lasted only two innings.
Grain Valley (27-9 overall) chipped away at Willard’s lead behind a four-run fifth inning.
The Eagles went ahead 8-7 in the sixth on Parker Bosserman’s RBI double and Kaden Jeffries’ RBI single.
After leading all game, Willard now had an 8-7 deficit with only six outs left.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games this year and always seem to find a way to win,” said Burk, who allowed two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings pitched. “It prepared us for a game like this.”
For the second day in a row, Willard won in walk-off fashion.
Cooper Hampton and Biellier ignited the Willard rally with back-to-back singles in the seventh. Friend’s RBI single tied it; two batters later, McMain won it.
“He’s struggled offensively at times, but he’s such a competitive kid,” McGee said of McMain. “First at-bat, he gets a triple. Second at-bat, his head coach pinch hits for him – that says something. Third at-bat, to still have the confidence to come up and hit the game-winner, it’s unbelievable what he did today.”
The Tigers overcame two errors and some base-running mishaps – four runners were tagged out, including two at third base – to prevail.
“That’s kind of a fitting end to our season,” McGee said. “We made some bad move as coaches, did some bad things base-running wise, made some bad plays defensively, but we just kept on coming back.”
Klayton Kiser came on in relief and recorded the final five outs.
Grain Valley threatened to add to its lead in the seventh, with runners on second and third and only one out. Kiser struck out the next two hitters.
“(Kiser) has tremendous stuff,” McGee said. “He’s in and out of the zone at times, but today he was in the zone. He pitched us out of multiple jams.”
Willard finishes 27-10 overall and figures to be a state contender next season as well. The Tigers graduate a six-player senior class.
“This Willard program has meant so much to me,” Hultgren said. “I’ve had great teammates and great coaches.”
McGee, in his 14th season as Willard’s head coach, has seen many past teams get close to winning it all. The Tigers lost in the state semifinals in 2012, 2013 and 2019.
“I’m so proud of our Willard community, because when you invest in something like that, eventually you’re going to be rewarded,” McGee said. “We’ve had some tough breaks and some tough moments. We’ve had teams that were really, really good and were almost there.”
