How Tolton prevailed against Southern Boone for its third ever district title

It took three hours, a rain delay, three extra innings, and a sophomore reliever for No. 2 seed Tolton (21-8) to finally beat down top-seeded Southern Boone (28-9), for the Class 4, District 8 Championship, 7-6, in 10 innings in Ashland.

Following a sacrifice fly ball from junior Alex Frost that brought home the eventual game-winning run, sophomore pitcher Wyatt Quevreaux was clutch in the bottom of the stanza. After giving up a hit to junior Brayden Beckmann, the next two batters stalled on a sacrifice bunt and flyout to left field.

More: How Harrisburg baseball's 2024 season laid the foundation for future success

More: 'I showed myself that I could do that': Brayden Nichols’ triumphant return to Hallsville baseball

In the final at-bat, he delivered a pitch to senior Chase Morris, resulting in a line drive to right fielder Karter Ball, ending the contest.

“It’s unbelievable. I can’t really make up words for it,” Quevreaux said. “I can’t really think of any words to describe how fun it was and how great it felt to do that in that moment.”

Quevreaux was pivotal in the Trailblazers thrilling victory.

Southern Boone overcame a 6-0 deficit as Blake Hargis smashed a three-run homer to left in the bottom of the third inning, igniting the home crowd.

In the fifth inning, before a 20-minute rain delay, senior Austin Evans and Beckmann each belted home runs while sophomore Jackson Woodward's RBI to helped tie things up.

Tolton head coach Ehrich Chick turned to Quevreaux, replacing junior Lucas Wietholder, who came in for senior Jake Ryan in the fourth inning. In 5.0 innings, Quevreaux allowed just two hits while striking out three.

A Southern Boone player multiple times reached either second or third base over the final five innings, but the pressure didn’t get to Quevreaux as he delivered a shutout performance.

“I think he just became a man. He just became a man,” Chick said. “He took the game and really just wasn’t fazed. He came in and threw strikes and kept them off balance, and we were able to make plays behind him.”

While Quevreaux anchored down the back half of the game, the Trailblazers offense, led by Wietholder, gave them momentum early. Wietholder recorded a 2-RBI single into right field, building a 2-0 lead for Tolton in the top of the first inning.

“I was feeling really, really energetic early. With the first 2-RBI hit in the first inning, I was really happy to get us on the board early,” Wietholder, a St. Louis University commit, said.

In the top of the next inning, Frost collected an RBI double before Wietholder collected his third and fourth RBI with a double into left field, making it a five-run game. Sophomore Carter Henke drove home another, making it a six-run game in favor of Tolton.

The early offense fireworks pleased Chick after the Trailblazers scored just once in their 1-0 victory over Mexico on Wednesday. A game prior to closing out the regular season, the Trailblazers fell to the same Eagles team 6-3.

“The biggest thing is we came out fighting and came out hitting right away, which was great. It kind of cooled off a little bit throughout the game, but they just kept sticking with it,” Chick said.

Tolton will advance to the Class 4 State Tournament on Tuesday. The Trailblazers will find out their opponent today as it awaits the winner out of District 7 between Macon (11-9) and Moberly (21-6).

“We’ve all worked super hard this year, and all the work that we put in has really led to this moment, and it really shows how good of a team we are.” Quevreaux said.

The last time Tolton advanced out of districts was in 2022 where it won the Class 3 State Title, now it keeps its aspirations alive to do it in Class 4.

Southern Boone’s season comes to an end after its fourth straight 20-plus win season. While on the field it's a fun, but intense rivalry, there’s still plenty of respect between both Boone County powerhouses.

“My hats off to Southern Boone. They’re a wonderful program,” Chick said. “Coach (Brian) Ash is a mentor of mine and does a great job. He had really brought that program to be a state-caliber program, and for us to be able to fight through and come out with a victory shows what we’re capable of, and that’s awesome.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Tolton captured its third district title against Southern Boone