Festus captures first baseball championship in school history after beating Borgia for Missouri Class 5 title

Sophomore center field Brady Nolen goes 4-for-4 with three RBIs

OZARKS, Mo. – After coming up short in the Missouri Class 5 baseball championship game a year ago, the Festus Tigers were determined to make it back and make history.

Coach Jeff Montgomery’s squad proved that this weekend at Sky Bacon Stadium.

After dispatching Fort Zumwalt South in the semifinals on Friday, the Tigers pounded out 16 hits to beat St. Francis Borgia 8-1 in the Class 5 championship game on Saturday afternoon to become the first team in program history to win a baseball title.

“Being the first team to ever win a state title for Festus is amazing,” senior catcher Tyler Bizzle said. “I think this is my dream. You couldn’t ask for anything more, honestly. … We had the experience and everything and we weren’t going home without that trophy.”

Led by a strong core of seniors, Festus (27-8) capped off a remarkable playoff run of six straight victories where the Tigers scored 40 runs and only allowed three – a span that included four straight shutouts.

“The kids have just been hungry all year,” Montgomery said. “They came down here to win it. They came down here last year to win it. We got a shot last year. We fell a little short. It’s just really sweet for these kids to get back here – the toughness and difficulty of getting back – and then to actually get back and win. It’s just a great team. Eight seniors kind of carried the way. It’s a team that’s been together for a long time. They’ve been playing ball together since they were little. I’m just really happy for them.”

Festus and Borgia (25-6) were tied at 1-1 after three innings – Festus scored in the top of the first and Borgia scored in the bottom of the second – before the Tigers broke the game open with three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth and one more for good measure in the seventh.

Sophomore center fielder Brady Nolen led the offensive attack with four hits and three RBIs. Bizzle had three hits and an RBI. Junior second baseman Jeremiah Cunningham, sophomore pitcher-first baseman Mason Schirmer, senior right fielder Jackson Gross and senior left fielder Wyatt Huskey each added two hits.

“After getting through that game yesterday we thought we had a good shot because they used their No. 1,” Nolen said. “Getting through this game, this guy had a really good ERA and everything, so we just got the job done. We hit and we stayed together.”

The Tigers provided Schirmer, a sophomore lefthander committed to the University of Missouri, and senior right-handed reliever Nate Moore with more than enough support offensively and defensively.

Schirmer (8-1) allowed one run on six hits, struck out two and walked three, in 5 2/3 innings of work. Moore allowed one hit and struck out one batter in 1 1/3 to finished it off.

“I don’t know how to react right now,” Schirmer said. “It’s crazy. First one in school history. We lost last year. We’ve always taken second. It was just nuts. I’m in shock.”

Senior southpaw Ian Brown, who tossed a complete-game shutout in the Tigers’ 2-0 win over Zumwalt South on Friday, summed it up perfectly.

“It means everything to us,” Brown said. “We wanted to make our school proud and I think we did that today. I think we made the fans and families proud and I love every single one of them.”

• MSHSAA PLAYOFF BRACKETS | BASEBALL RANKINGS

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MISSOURI BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Ian Brown's shutout lifts Festus past Fort Zumwalt South in Class 5 semifinals

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St. Elizabeth tops South Nodaway to win second straight Class 1 baseball championship

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Photo gallery: South Nodaway downs Community in Class 1 semifinal

Caleb Oligschlaeger's shutout helps reigning Class 1 champion St. Elizabeth top Cooter in semifinals

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Missouri Class 5 baseball championship

Photos from Nate Latsch