St. Thomas More pushed past Evangel Christian in extra innings Saturday to secure its second consecutive appearance in the state semifinals.
The Cougars won 10-0 on Friday and 7-3 on Saturday to sweep the Eagles at home and will look to improve on their semifinal exit from a year ago against top-seeded St. Louis Catholic.
“It’s a great team victory," STM coach Chance Harst said. "Evangel is a very good baseball team. We threw the ball very well and finally got some timely hits in the ninth with a clutch performance by some of our key guys."
Evangel took the lead in the bottom of the third when a sharply hit groundball to shortstop allowed the first run of the game to cross home plate, but a diving stop by Parker Castille prevented a second one from scoring.
“I just do my best to try and help the team when it’s needed,” Castille said. “We need to back up the pitchers to make the difference when you face the great teams we do in the playoffs.”
The Cougars equalized that run in the top of the fourth inning before getting into a two-out, bases-loaded jam. The Eagles' batter worked the count full then hit a looping line drive toward Castille, who jumped into the air to secure the final out of the inning and prevent more runs from scoring.
“Parker has done a great job all year long playing shortstop, so I’m not surprised,” Harst said. “He made the play that kept us in it, and a very, very good play at that.”
Both offenses then struggled to produce as the pitchers for both teams put up four scoreless innings with Evangel utilizing a shift defensively to stymie the Saint Thomas More bats.
“In that situation, we need to just stay through the ball and hit opposite field," Castille said. "We were trying to hit home runs a little too much and getting under it a bit or hitting right to them.”
The Cougars rallied in the top of the ninth inning to score five runs, with the go-ahead runs coming off a Hayes Hebert double to right-center. The Eagles were unable to rally in the bottom of the ninth as the No. 13 seed’s run ended.
“Everything we do is about them, our community, our parents, and everybody that supports us throughout the years,” Harst said. “So we’re excited for the opportunity to be back.”