By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Lamar’s baseball team made a quick exit from the district tournament last spring. The Tigers were determined not to let that happen again this year.
The team manufactured enough offense on Thursday and senior Tate Ansley turned in a strong effort on the mound as Lamar handled visiting East Newton 3-0 in the Class 3 District 11 championship game.
The Tigers, 14-13, will face 21-4 Stockton on Tuesday in the sectional round.
“It’s just an exciting moment,” Ansley said. “We’ve been working for it all year. We had an early exit last year so this has been our goal. Having a good defense to back me up really helped.”
Ansley allowed a single in the first inning and hit a batter in the fourth, but the Patriots never really threatened until the top of the fifth. Josh Mathis and Jack Cook led off with back-to-back singles and both moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, but Ansley got two pop ups to end the inning and only allowed two more baserunners the rest of the game.
“I was just throwing a fastball and a curveball but felt better than I ever have,” he said. “I’ve been pitching off this mound since freshman year and never felt so good. It helped to have a good defense once again. Without them this wouldn’t be possible.”
Lamar scored twice in the first, which proved the difference in the game. Ansley helped his cause by starting off with a triple to right, and Alex Wilkerson later reached on an error that made it 1-0. Wilkerson then stole second and scored on a single by Tyler Ansley.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Tigers added an insurance run in the fourth after Tyler Ansley led off with a double to center. He promptly stole third base and scored easily on a line-drive single.
Thursday’s championship win followed a blowout 12-2 victory over Sarcoxie in the district opener a day earlier. The two wins come after the Tigers had lost four in a row to end the regular season.
“It was a tough season and we knew we needed to come in fresh to prevent what happened last year,” Ansley said.
Now the Tigers feel as if they’ve hit the reset button on their season.
“Absolutely,” Ansley said. “Now just hit the reset button again and come back to a fresh week.”
Lamar will be seeking some revenge against Stockton, which won the regular season matchup 6-1 in early April.
As for East Newton, the Patriots finished with a 9-16 record.
“It was an awesome year across the board,” coach Jamey Gilion said. “We lost some games midseason, went through a slump but pulled out of the slump, showed up and put together a heck of a run to end the year.”
