Whether it is the gridiron, hardwood or baseball field, Mountain Grove’s upperclassmen don’t know how to quit.
That was evident on Tuesday as the Panthers scored nine runs unanswered to beat Class 3 No. 1 Conway and advance to the Class 3 Final Four for the first time in program history.
"I feel amazed," Mountain Grove Head Coach Derwin McGownd said. "I am just grateful for this group of guys. They work hard every day and they deserve this. We are pretty tickled around here."
In the early going, it was looking as if the Bears would roll Mountain Grove. Conway sent all nine players to the plate in the first inning and scored five runs thanks to a couple miscues by the Panther defense and three walks.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Starting pitcher Blaine Halford lasted just seven batters and recorded one out before he gave way to junior Brock Coffman.
Conway sported a 4-0 lead after one inning.
McGownd had a simple message for his boys after the rough opening frame.
"Just stay calm. There is a lot of game left and we were just going to stay with it. These guys have come back from being down before," McGownd said. "Just keep swining the bats. Our defense would come around and it did."
Halford shook off the rough start on the mound to reach base in the bottom half of the first and come around to score to make it 4-1.
In the second inning, Conway scratched across one more run. That would be the only one charged to Coffman and the last the Bears would get in the game.
"He (Coffman) doesn't throw hard, but he hits his spots and hits his locations and does what he needs to do. He stayed around the zone and let that defense shake the jitters and go to work behind him," McGownd said.
While the defense settled down, the bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Panthers were down 5-2.
Coffman reached on an error to open the inning before Hayden Newberry walked. McNew, who committed a costly error in the first inning, stepped in and knocked both runners in on a single to left with a two-base error that left him on third.
"DJ is that kind of kid. He goes out and plays every day and gives everything that he has got," McGownd said. "That is what these seniors do. They lead by example."
This led to Conway starting pitcher Andrew Huckaby being pulled in favor of Missouri State signee Hunter Dame.
Dame struck out three batters in the inning, but not before Treye Collins knocked a single to bring in McNew and tie the game up.
After a scoreless top of the sixth, Mountain Grove got its first three batters on base before McNew struck again with an RBI single to bring two more runs around.
Mountain Grove tacked on five total runs in the frame to make it 10-5.
In the top of the seventh, Conway loaded up the bases but a 6-4-3 double play would end the game and send Mountain Grove to the Class 3 Final Four.
The Panthers will face last year’s state runner-up Scott City at 4:30 p.m. on June 1 in O’Fallon at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.
