Liberty North tops Francis Howell for second straight Missouri Class 6 baseball championship

Eagles score nine runs on 10 hits to claim second title

By Nate Latsch | Photos by Ron Rigdon

OZARKS, Mo. – The Liberty North baseball team was certainly “Ready For Battle” in the Missouri Class 6 championship game on Saturday night.

The slogan the school community adopted to support assistant coach Rob James’ during his battle with cancer became even more of a rallying cry after James passed on May 5.

The Eagles wore “RFB” across their chests and held him and his family close in their hearts as they pursued another title and in the final moments of Saturday night’s title game against Francis Howell, chants of “RFB” echoed throughout Sky Bacon Stadium.

With Coach James’ family in the stands, Liberty North put together one of its best performances of the playoffs and defeated Francis Howell 9-3 to claim a second straight Missouri Class 6 championship.

This one was for him.

“We just felt him with us the whole way,” said senior second baseman and pitcher Ty Wisdom, who tossed the final three innings to earn the save. “Through the whole playoffs he was with us. His family is here tonight. They weren’t here yesterday, made the trip down and they’re here tonight. So we just felt them with us and we felt him. There were a couple rays in the sky during yesterday’s game that we saw and we knew he was smiling down on us. We wanted to do it for him.”

Coach James’ name was announced with the rest of the coaching staff when the Liberty North (34-7) coaches and players were recognized during the presentation of medals. 

The crowd cheered.

“It was awesome,” Eagles coach Ryan Stegall said. “His wife made the game. She made the trip tonight. So it’s extra special. He just meant so much to these guys, he meant so much to me. He changed everything around this program just with his positivity and the influence he had on these boys. All-around awesome dude.”

The Eagles were more determined than ever on Saturday and the Francis Howell (31-11) pitching staff took the brunt of it.

“Against a good team you can’t pitch it like the way we pitched it,” Howell coach Tony Perkins said. “They found barrels. They had seven runs in the last (four) games and they scored nine today. So it was their day to shine. You have to pitch very well to keep those bats quiet and once they get going it’s just like piranhas in the water.”

The offensive outburst was a welcomed site for Stegall – and Eagles senior pitchers Andrew Agnew (7-0) and Wisdom.

“We told the guys every day, man, just give us one crooked number and we’re going to be fine with our pitching and defense we feel like,” Stegall said. “It just kept coming. We’re too good with the sticks to not hit.”

Liberty North’s recent victories include a 1-0 win over Staley in the district championship game, a 2-0 victory over Rockhurst in the quarterfinals and a 2-1 win against Nixa in the semifinals.

The Eagles’ impressive lineup took care of business early and often on Saturday against the Vikings ­– scoring twice in the first inning, second and third innings before Howell recorded its first hit. Then they tacked on two more in the fifth and another in the seventh.

Eight different Liberty North players recorded hits and six of the Eagles’ 10 hits were doubles.

Shortstop Trey Snyder and third baseman Cole Young each had two hits. Wisdom and left fielder Jack Lemasters each had two RBIs. Young and Lemasters both scored twice.

“It felt awesome,” Wisdom said of the offensive explosion. “We kind of were a little cold leading into the tournament and we had a close win yesterday. It felt really good. We just had a better plan going up to the plate.”

Francis Howell used six different pitchers in seven innings and didn’t have much of an answer for Agnew or Wisdom on the offensive side as they managed just four hits.

Agnew, a senior lefty, allowed one run on two hits in four innings and struck out one batter. Wisdom allowed two runs – both in the seventh inning as the Vikings tried to rally – on two hits in three innings and struck out three.

This night belonged to the Eagles. This was for Coach James.

“We went through a lot of adversity over the season with Coach James’ passing and we just knew we were going to do it for him,” Wisdom said. “We came out and took care of business and get to celebrate now. It’s an amazing feeling.”

• MSHSAA PLAYOFF BRACKETS | BASEBALL RANKINGS

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Missouri Class 6 baseball championship

Photos from Ron Rigdon

Photo by Ron Rigdon