Plato rode senior Conner Hathaway’s arm and a big sixth inning to beat Purdy 15-2 and advance back to the Final Four for the first time since the Eagles won it in 2005.
"I am happy for the kids and happy to go to the Final Four again. That is something special and something that we have strived for since we went the last time in 2005," Plato head coach Mark Vaughan said. "I knew that we were talented enough. I told them about a month ago to make baseball a priority. You have the rest of your life to run around. Take extra cuts. Don't be the first one to leave. Make me wear myself out. I will throw as many as we can."
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In the early going, it was rocky going for Hathaway on the mound. He beaned Purdy lead-off hitter James Hughlett with the first pitch of the game. Hughlett proceeded to advance to second and then third on wild pitches. He finally scored on a single by Dusty Videmschet to make it 1-0 in favor of Purdy after one inning.
After that, Hathaway would settle in.
"I knew he would settle down. He is a senior. He has been starting varsity since he was a sophomore," Vaughan said. "We have played in some big games and not just these games. We have traveled over the last few years to try and get us ready for these games, so I knew he would be ready."
Hathway gave up one run and just three hits the rest of the way while striking out 11 Purdy batters in the game.
"I just tried to realize that it is another game, and understand that we are here for a reason. We have worked hard. The coaches have done everything to make sure they have done everything they can do to get us here,” Hathaway said. “I knew it was my job to see what I could do. Once I realized it was just another ball game and let that sink in; I felt pretty confident from there on."
The game was 4-2 in favor of Plato heading into the top of the sixth before the wheels came off for Purdy, and Plato scored seven runs to ice the game. Four of those seven players who scored reached base via walk.
"I thought he (the Purdy pitcher) might junk us early, so I wanted them to be patient," Vaughan said. "I knew that he wasn't going to throw us anything that just blew by us. A lot of times when you are not patient against a kid that is slower and has junk, you are going to run into what they want."
The Eagles sent 11 to the plate in the inning to make it an 11-2 advantage going to the bottom of the sixth.
Purdy was able to mount a threat in the bottom half of the inning by loading up the bases with two outs, but Hathaway ended the threat with a strikeout.
"I think 4-2 would have beaten us today. Hathaway did a good job on the mound. We weren't hitting the ball well," Purdy head coach Joshua Hughes said." "I felt like early on we had some chances to put some doubt in their mind. When we didn't do that, they sure put some doubt in ours with that big inning. The ball didn't bounce our way a couple times and they took advantage."
Plato would add four more runs in the top of the seventh to get the margin out to 15-2.
Wiley Miller led Plato with the bat by knocking in four runs, scoring three runs and going 3-for-5 on the day. Hathway was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and a walk.
The Eagles now head back to the Final Four for the first time in 11 years. Awaiting them will be Class 2 No. 1 and defending state champion Valle Catholic.
"It is another ball game. It will be fun. It will be neat to see a team that has been that high up for two years," Hathaway said. "There is no doubt it is going to be a challenge, but hopefully we can see what we can do."
Vaughan hopes to go up a day early to get his boys acclimated with T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo.
"Hopefully we get to go up the night before and we can go over to the field and show them that they play on the same surface as what we do. They have the 90-foot bases and 60-foot-6-inch mound," Vaughan said. "Valle is good. Everybody knows they are good. I heard it from the first of the year I've heard how good they are. That's why we play the game. There is always a chance if you go out and play the game hard."
Purdy ends its season with a program record 23 wins. The Eagles will say good-bye to four seniors who saw the program win three league and district titles.
"They have worked their butts off and been great leaders. (They are) just a great group of kids. (They have) great parents. Those four kids have four sets of parents that do a great job," Hughes said. "Those (underclassmen) see them. They see the way they act and do the right thing, so that is huge for the program."
Plato squares off with Valle Catholic at 4:30 p.m. on May 31 in O’Fallon, Mo. at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.
