What to know about Springfield area high school baseball about a month into the season

High school baseball is in full swing across Missouri and teams have separated themselves to be considered among the best in the area and the state.

The Ozarks features a handful of state championship contenders and loaded districts that will be worth watching next month.

Here's what you need to know through the first month of the high school baseball season.

A Willard-Webb City state championship game is fun to think about

The Class 5 postseason tournament's layout makes it possible for two teams from southwest Missouri to face off in the state championship. The area has the No. 1 and 2 teams in the class, allowing us to dream.

No. 1 Willard and No. 2 Webb City are on opposite sides of the bracket. The Tigers fell in a district championship last year to state quarterfinalist Glendale while the Cardinals placed fourth in the state.

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Both have proven to be among the state's best through this season's early weeks. It makes the May 2 game in Webb City between the two a possible state preview.

Willard continues to be considered an area power under Scott McGee whose team lost its first game 2-1 in a neutral site contest with Liberty on Saturday. The Blue Jays have been a 20-plus-win program over the last decade with a Class 6 state title in 2021

The Tigers have received consistent starting pitching having not given up more than two runs in nine of its 13 games. Senior Cameron Jennings has thrown good innings in addition to senior Will Merryman. The team seems to have a few solid arms while averaging 7.5 runs per game, led by the bat of senior Landon Moore.

Willard won't have to play Glendale in the postseason this year but will still have some challengers in district play with West Plains, Catholic and Branson which is slotted as the field's host school. Catholic, despite a sub-.500 record, shouldn't be counted out when it's played a loaded schedule early in the year as it tends to do. The Fightin' Irish always seems to figure it out come postseason time.

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Webb City's district isn't as loaded and will have to travel to Belton (just south of Kansas City) to play. The Cardinals won't have to play a currently-ranked team until Kearney (which beat the Cardinals 9-0 on March 30) in the state quarterfinals.

The Class 6, District 6 postseason will be a must-watch

Making plans to be at Kickapoo for the Class 6, District 6 postseason might not be a bad idea because a few teams are capable of winning it and the area's large school district has only gotten stronger.

Nixa is currently touted as the team to beat in the district as it's been impressive against a loaded schedule. Its most notable wins came in the Springfield Red and Blue Tournament where it swept through with wins over state-ranked Liberty North, Lee's Summit West and Kearney.

The Eagles have been led by Missouri State commit Wyatt Vincent, who has been on a tear to start the year, as well as Rylan Michel, Jack Edwards and highly touted freshman Adam McKnight. Pitching has been strong with Colin Kelley picking up where he left off a year ago. Cameron Miller and Nate Uber have been another pair of solid starters on a deep pitching staff.

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Glendale moved from Class 5 to Class 6 this year and has looked like Nixa's biggest challenger. The Falcons have some solid wins, including an early-season win over Nixa, a win over Republic in extras and a recent victory over Webb City. Sebastian Norman continues to look like the highly-touted prospect he is while Drew Wedgeworth continues to look like one of the better starters in the area. As the pitching staff gets healthier, the Falcons will look better.

The two aren't the only contenders. Ozark has gotten stronger and knocked off Class 6 No. 1 Fort Zumwalt West on Saturday. The Tigers feature junior Arkansas commit Hudson Roberts and junior Mizzou commit Cooper Pumphrey for one of the better duos in the area.

Republic's taken steps forward as proven in its Smith-Cotton Tournament championship last week. It also has a 16-6 over Kickapoo which should typically be considered in the mix but has struggled this season against a tough schedule.

Logan-Rogersville remains among the state's elite

No Curry Sutherland or Brody McNiel? It hasn't been a problem so far for the Class 4 top-ranked Wildcats as Casey Ledl continues to lead one of the area's best programs.

Ross Lawrence, who will follow Sutherland and McNiel at Missouri State, has been strong on the mound and in the batter's box this season. Jackson Rousey makes a positive impact in every game. They're getting great innings from freshman Nate Eakins, senior Chase Hampton and others. It's what you'd expect from Logan-Rogersville over what's been a great five-year stretch.

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Rogersville won't have to run into Catholic in a district championship this year, which ended the Wildcats' 24-6 season a year ago. There are no state-ranked teams in their district with Mountain Grove being the only other team with a winning record. The two will play on April 25 in Mountain Grove for a potential district final sneak-peak.

If you want to look ahead, Rogersville could be matched up with Blair Oaks in sectional play which is ranked as the No. 2 team in the state. It could be the second year in a row the Wildcats find themselves playing in a No. 1 vs. 2 matchup before the state quarterfinals.

Forsyth has emerged as a team to watch in Class 3

Keep an eye on the Panthers as they've turned into one of the top-ranked teams in Class 3, have one of the better pitchers in the state and are putting up big numbers offensively.

Forsyth is ranked No. 4 in Class 3 and it's only fallen twice this season, both coming at the Hollister Festival in defeats to Marshfield and Olathe West (Kansas). Only three times has the pitching staff allowed more than two runs through 13 games.

Senior hurler Tristan Hunter is the name to know as he inches his way to playing college ball at Kentucky. He pitched a perfect game in 41 pitches during his first start of the season and threw a no-hitter in his second. He had 16 strikeouts between the two and has a shot at breaking MSHSAA's strikeout record.

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Offensively, the Panthers are averaging 8.2 runs per game which would be their most since 2015. They're scoring 1.5 more runs than they did a year ago and allowing nearly half a fewer runs than a 20-8 district championship team.

As far as its district goes this year, Strafford has proven to be strong and is state-ranked. Fair Grove is also in the district where it's proven to be a consistent winner.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area high school baseball midseason roundup