OZARK, Mo. — Logan-Rogersville has enjoyed success in baseball in recent years, only one season below .500 spanning longer than a decade, but there is one thing they haven’t done yet in Log-Rog.
That is to play for a state championship.
The Wildcats tried to do just that taking on Kennett in the state semifinals.
Cats get on the board first as Curry Sutherland lines it to the gap in right center Clay Palen scores from second, one nothing.
A mix of errors and wild pitches allow the Cats to take a 7-1 lead.
The Indians loaded the bases in the fifth, but Tanner Peterson and Hunter Lewis combine for the 6-3 double play as the Cats get out of it.
Top 6 another big inning, Sutherland gets it started with a liner that nearly takes out his teammate, but the flowing blonde of Palen scores to make it 8-1
Later in the inning Ross Lawrence he threw six strikeouts he drills a liner to right that scores Thessen Prenger and Sutherland. Lawrence winds up at third with a triple and a big day for the sophomore.
“I just tell myself to relax and just do my thing. I don’t get overwhelmed and that’s all I have to do,” Lawrence said.
Logan-Rogersville then gets the last out of the game and advances to the state championship winning 11-1
“I think just coming up short last year,” Wildcats baseball coach Casey Ledl said. “We came up one run short, basically one out short in a district and that has really driven them for 365 days. They wanted this and I think, again, it’s that belief. They truly believe this is the team that can do it.”
So the run-rule has become kind of a norm for the Logan-Rogersville Wildcats. So far every game in this state tournament they have won by at least 10 runs.
Logan-Rogersville will play for the class 4 state championship on Thursday at 1 in Ozark.
The Wildcats will play Southern Boone County, who beat Marshall 6-5 in 11 innings.
