SBLive Missouri high school baseball Power 25 rankings (May 22): No. 1 Liberty North wins district on walk-off homer

Check out this week's SBLive Missouri Power 25 baseball rankings

Paul Halfacre | May 22, 2023

Liberty North outlasted Staley in the Class 6 District 8 tournament title game to retain its No. 1 ranking. Nixa, Francis Howell and Jackson earned Class 6 district titles.

Willard and Glendale headline a massive Class 5 district title game on Monday. Lafayette got red hot to enter the postseason and rattled off three consecutive upset wins over Marquette, Eureka and Vianney.

SBLIVE MISSOURI POWER 25 BASEBALL RANKINGS

Here's a look at the SBLive Missouri Power 25:

1. Liberty North (31-7)

Last week: 1

The Eagles captured the Class 6 District 8 tournament title after beating North Kansas City (12-0), Oak Park (2-0) and then shut out Staley in a 1-0 victory in the title game on Friday. Junior Josiah Hall hit a walk-off home run to right field in the bottom of the seventh to win it. Liberty North will take on Class 6 District 7 champions Rockhurst on Saturday in a Class 6 quarterfinal game.

2. Nixa (32-6)

Last week: 5

Nixa navigated the Class 6 District 6 tournament expertly. Nixa blitzed past Springfield Central (14-1) before slipping past Ozark (3-1) in the semifinal round to earn a rematch with Republic. Nixa managed to score four runs in the top half of the seventh to earn a 6-2 victory over Republic on Friday. Jack Edwards got the go-ahead RBI in the seventh. Nixa will play Class 6 District 5 champions Blue Springs on Saturday in a Class 6 quarterfinal game.

3. Francis Howell (29-10)

Last week: 6

Francis Howell got its fifth matchup with Fort Zumwalt West in the Class 6 District 4 tournament on the season and it made the most of it. Junior Alex Bryan picked up a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and striking out four. Jackson Vaughn went 2-for-4 and scored twice while collecting four RBIs. Francis Howell will play De Smet in a Class 6 quarterfinal game on Saturday.

4. Jackson (32-6)

Last week: 14

Jackson captured the Class 6 District 1 title with a 9-1 win over Mehlville on Saturday in the final. John Paul Sauer went six innings and struck out eight to pick up the win. Caden Bogenpohl hit a solo shot in the game to help power the offense. Jackson will play Class 6 District 2 champion Lafayette in a Class 6 quarterfinal game on Saturday.

5. Willard (28-9)

Last week: 10

Willard survived a nine-inning wild affair against Branson in the Class 5 District 6 semifinal. Down by a run to Branson, Matthew Angel connected on a solo home run to pick up the win. Cooper Hampton collected two hits in the win while Cooper Wilken allowed two runs over 7 1/3 innings in the semifinal win. The Tigers will play Glendale in the title game on Monday.

6. Springfield Catholic (18-7)

Last week: 13

Springfield Catholic had an extra game to plow to try to hoist the district title in the Class 4 District 8 tournament. It didn't matter, the Fighting Irish won all three games and captured the district title crown with a 2-1 win over Logan-Rogersville. Coleman Morrison went 4 2/3 innings in the win and gave up one run on three hits. Nic Ruter went 3-for-4 and scored a run in the win. Springfield Catholic will play Eldon on Tuesday in a Class 4 sectional game.

7. Portageville (32-2)

Last week: 8

Portageville breezed through the Class 3 District 1 tournament and outscored its two opponents 23-0. It knocked off Twin Rivers 10-0 in the title game last week. The Bulldogs will play Scott City in the Class 3 sectional round on Tuesday.

8. Glendale (24-5)

Last week: 18

Glendale earned a spot in the Class 5 District 6 title game after squeezing past Camdenton in the semifinal game on Thursday. Brooks Kettering picked up the win after Glendale picked up three runs in the top half of the seventh. Kettering and Cam Stratton totaled three hits each while Kettering totaled two RBIs. Glendale and Willard will play on Monday in the title game.

9. Fort Zumwalt West (30-9)

Last week: 3

Fort Zumwalt West advanced to the Class 6 District 4 title game where it faced off against Gateway Athletic Conference rival Francis Howell. In the fifth meeting between the two programs, the Jaguars were upset 6-1 on Friday. Senior Kenton Deverman drove in the lone run for the Jaguars.

10. Blue Springs South (27-6)

Last week: 4

Blue Springs South avoided an upset in the Class 6 District 5 semifinal round, roaring back from being down 4-1 to score eight unanswered runs in the final four innings. Blue Springs managed to pull off the upset in the title game, ending Blue Springs South's season with a 5-3 loss in the title game.

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11. Rock Bridge (30-7)

Last week: 2

The Rock Bridge Bruins won a program-record 30 games but got upset in the Class 6 District 5 semifinal to eventual district winners Blue Springs, 12-3.

12. Valley Park (20-4)

Last week: 19

Valley Park managed to avenge an earlier loss to St. Pius X with a 4-3 victory over the Lancers in the Class 3 District 4 title game on Wednesday. Sophomore Will Geary scored the game-winning run in the top of the sixth inning while senior Isaiah Rose picked up his seventh win of the season going the final 3 1/3 innings. Valley Park will play West County in a Class 3 sectional game on Tuesday.

13. Borgia (22-5)

Last week: 20

Borgia knocked off Union in the first round of the Class 5 District 5 tournament before breezing past upstart Capital City in the semifinal round to earn another date with cross-town rivals Washington title game on Monday. In the semifinal round, Caden Carroll picked up the win going six innings and striking out five while Justin Mort went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

14. St. Elizabeth (19-7)

Last week: 21

The defending Class 1 state champions earned its seventh-straight district title, capturing the Class 1 District 8 title with a 5-0 shutout win over Halfway. St. Elizabeth will face off with Weaubleau in a Class 1 sectional round on Monday.

15. Logan-Rogersville (24-6)

Last week: 7

After picking up a district tournament win over Hollister, Logan-Rogersville fell in the Class 4 District 10 title game to Springfield Catholic, 2-1. Ross Lawrence went 5 2/3 innings and struck out 11 while giving up eight hits in the one-run loss.

16. Vianney (30-6)

Last week: 9

After cruising through the first two rounds of the Class 6 District 2 tournament, Vianney ran into red-hot Lafayette in the title game. Vianney got an RBI from J.D. Dohrmann in the 4-3 nine-inning loss.

17. Fort Zumwalt South (25-6-1)

Last week: 23

The Bulldogs blasted past St. Charles in the first round of the Class 5 District 4 tournament before holding off Holt in the semifinal round to earn a spot in the title game against St. Dominic on Monday. In the semifinal win, Connor Henke picked up the win going 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts while Jack Reynolds went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.

18. John Burroughs (24-3)

Last week: NR

John Burroughs has not lost to a Missouri team this year. Its only three losses have come to teams out of state in the out-of-state tournament to kick off the year. The Bombers outscored its two opponents in the Class 4 District 3 tournament 19-3 against Bayless and Priory last week. John Burroughs will host Sullivan on Tuesday in a Class 4 sectional game.

19. Lafayette (20-12-1)

Last week: NR

Lafayette rattled off three consecutive upset wins in the Class 6 District 2 tournament. The fifth-seeded Lancers knocked off Marquette and Eureka in back-to-back days before outlasting host Vianney in the title game. Senior Tripp Johns collected the go-ahead RBI in the top half of the ninth inning and Lafayette held on for the 4-3 win in the title game. The Lancers will take on Jackson in a Class 6 quarterfinal game on Saturday.

20. Fulton (17-8)

Last week: NR

Fulton opened up the Class 4 District 8 tournament with a win over the defending Class 3 state champions Father Tolton, 6-1. The Hornets followed that up defeating the defending Class 4 state champions Southern Boone, 3-2, before pitching a 1-0 shutout over Fatima in the district title game. Dusty Hagens gave up one hit over 6 2/3 innings and picked up a season-high 12 strikeouts in the district title win. Fulton will play Macon in the sectional round on Monday.

21. Blue Springs (24-14)

Last week: NR

Blue Springs picked up back-to-back upset wins in the Class 6 District 5 tournament, knocking off Rock Bridge in the semifinal round before eliminating Blue Springs South. Cole Gibler picked up three hits and two RBIs while also picking up the win over Rock Bridge after going four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Blue Springs will take on the Class 6 District 6 champions Nixa in a Class 6 quarterfinal game on Saturday.

22. Southern Boone (25-10)

Last week: 11

The defending Class 4 state champions got ambushed by the red-hot Fulton team in the Class 4 District 8 semifinal round, falling 3-2 on Monday. Carter Salter went the distance in the losing effort, giving up three runs and collecting three strikeouts. Jace Wren went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the loss.

23. De Smet (20-14-1)

Last week: NR

De Smet seemed to have scuffled into the district playoffs, losing five of their final seven regular-season games. But in the playoffs the Spartans rattled off three straight wins, defeating Francis Howell North (8-1), getting a seven-inning no-hit performance by Josh Cunningham in a 7-0 victory over SLUH in the semifinal round. A seven-run outburst helped De Smet to hold off CBC 10-7 for the Class 6 District 3 title. The Spartans will play Francis Howell in a Class 6 quarterfinal game on Saturday.

24. Kennett (21-8)

Last week: NR

The Indians fought to the Class 4 District 1 title game after earning a 4-2 victory over Cape Notre Dame on Wednesday. In the title game, senior Tanner Piece went the distance, giving up just six hits, two earned runs and striking out 11. On Tuesday Kennett will square off with Potosi in a Class 4 sectional game.

25. Festus (23-8)

Last week: NR

The Tigers have rolled through the first two rounds of the Class 5 District 1 tournament, beating Farmington before shutting out North County in the semifinal round. Ian Brown got the win, going six innings, picking up 10 strikeouts, and giving up just two hits in the win. The defending Class 5 runner-ups will play host Windsor in the district title game on Monday.

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Published May 22, 2023

PAUL HALFACRE