Willard baseball back in state semifinals after beating St. Francis Borgia

For the fourth time in five years, the Willard Tigers are headed back to the state semifinals.

Willard (32-5) defeated St. Francis Borgia 1-0 in a Class 5 state quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon at Willard High School.

The Tigers will play in the state semifinals at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex in Ozark on Friday at 7 p.m. against Fort Zumwalt South. The Tigers seek their second state championship in school history (2021).

Willard scored the game's lone run on a wild pitch

The game's lone run came in the top of the fourth, in which Willard got its only two hits when there were two outs.

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Hayden Rakestraw singled before Jacob Hearon doubled, with Rakestraw being held at third. On the second pitch to Levi Hilton, a wild pitch got away from the Knights, allowing Rakestraw to score.

St. Francis Borgia pitcher Jack Nobe limited Willard to two hits

Xavier commit Jack Nobe, the same pitcher who limited Glendale to two hits in a Class 5 quarterfinal game a year ago, was on the bump for the Knights.

Nobe, again, threw a two-hitter in a Class 5 quarterfinal but this time came up on the losing end. The dominant performance saw him strike out 10 and walk two.

Cam Jennings held St. Francis Borgia scoreless while the Tigers played great defense

Willard's strengths this season are its pitching and its fielding. Both made appearances and helped lead the Tigers to a state semifinal appearance.

Having Cam Jennings doesn't hurt either. Although his bat was quiet, he threw five innings of two-hit ball while striking out seven to get the win. Hayden Larson closed the game by throwing the final two innings with three strikeouts and a pair of hits allowed.

Willard's solid defense committed no errors. St. Francis Borgia got only two runners in scoring position the entire game.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Willard High School baseball beats St. Francis Borgia in quarterfinals