By Chris Parker
Fair Grove baseball came up one win short of the program’s first state title in a 2-0 loss to Fatima on Thursday.
The Eagles had their chances in the game with runners in scoring position in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but couldn’t push one across against Fatima starter Blake Kliethermes.
“He (Kliethermes) had a really good slider. We tried to get as much information as we could about him. We knew he would be a solid arm, but honestly, he was a little better than I expected. Our guys never got a read on his off-speed pitch. He did a good job of mixing. That’s baseball,” Fair Grove head coach William Reed said.
Fair Grove had a runner at third with no outs and the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth. The Eagles got a one-out double in the fifth and couldn’t advance the runner any further. In the sixth, they had a runner at third with one out, but the runner was cut down at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly to the centerfielder.
Kliethermes threw 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball with seven strikeouts before hitting his pitch count limit.
Fair Grove senior Spensar Seiger was strong on the mound as his couterpart throwing a 6 2/3 innings with the only blemish being a two-run top of the third inning. He had six strikeouts.
Eight seniors graduate from the 2025 version of the Eagles who saw a lot of winning across several sports in their careers.
“They are first and foremost incredible young men,” Reed said. “They are most all academic all-state kids. They are high achievers. They are going to do great things in what they do. They led by example, and they did something that no other group has done.”
That senior group includes Brock Bruner, Carson Krider, Atticus Brandes, Seiger, Seth Sekulic, Brock Boatwright, Kellan Kirkpatrick and Nolen Geitz.
For the returning players, a return trip to the final four will be the goal.
“These young guys see what it took to get here,” Reed said. “In the game of baseball, pitching and defense takes you a long ways. We are going to look different next year. We have been very similar that last two years. We are going to have to do some things differently, but I think we have the guys who can still compete for a district championship. If you do that, you are going to have a chance to go further.”
Fair Grove finishes the season with a 28-6 record overall.
