By Chris Parker
When Licking baseball stepped on the field for Thursday’s Class 3 state championship game the Wildcats were facing South Callaway on the field, but also history off of it.
The history of the team not winning a state championship since going back-to-back in 1988 and 1989 under Hall of Fame coach Byron Hagler.
The history for starting pitcher Kellar Davis of stepping back on the same mound where he was hit in the head by a line drive early last July which would require brain surgery and a long rehab.
The Wildcats faced down both South Callaway and that history and came away with a 3-1 win to put Licking baseball back on top.
“I am not a Licking native, but I am well aware of coach (Byron) Hagler and his legacy. When you talk about Licking baseball you talk about Byron Hagler and the legacy that he left. We are just trying to creep into his long shadow just a tiny bit,” Licking Head Coach Harv Antle said. “A year or two ago that era of clubs was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. We are walking in their shadows, but the sun is shining on us today.”
Licking took advantage of South Callaway miscues in the bottom of the second inning to score all three runs. Keyton Cook and Davis reached on back-to-back errors to put runners on first and second with one out. Garrett Gorman and Kannon Buckner were both then hit by pitches to push the first run across. Licking senior center fielder Cole Wallace laced a first-pitch single to right field to score Davis and Gorman and make it a 3-0 lead.
“They (the early runs) were huge. A lot of times in a game like that the team that can get on top early has an advantage. It allows you to relax a little bit and play with confidence and just go about your business. You don’t start to press and try to force the action. Rather you let the game come to you,” Antle said.
That was all the run support Davis would need while he battled both the South Callaway lineup and memories of last July 10.
“This performance means a lot more than most people know. Last July, just about a year ago, was the last time I stepped on this mound. I took a line drive off my head and had brain surgery. Getting on this mound I could barely do it today. I met with one of my buddies before the game and we prayed about it and cried about it a little bit,” Davis said. “I just had to remember who I support and who I represent. Proverbs 3:5-6 ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight’. That has been my motto for the past month and past year. To see him come through with his promises is pretty amazing.”
Davis pitched a seven-inning complete game with eight strikeouts and just one earned run allowed.
“I had probably a 45-minute prayer before the game. I was just talking to God and he told me to go out there and he would carry me. I look back on this moment and I just see one pair of footprints. I got on His back and he held me through the entirety of it,” Davis said.
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The final might have been his strongest. He struck out the first two batters to get Licking one out away. He went into the final batter with one goal: let a senior catch the final out.
“We had three seniors on our team at second base, catcher and center field. Going into that last batter I wanted one of those guys to make the last out; strikeout, groundout or popout. When that ball went up and saw Cole squeeze it, it was pretty awesome,” Davis said.
That mission was accomplished via a flyout to Wallace in centerfield to secure Licking’s first state title in 34 years.
The team dog-piled at the mound with hugs all around. Senior Malachi Antle found his father for an emotional embrace to celebrate that was the culmination of years of work.
“He (Coach Antle) told me congratulations you are a state champion and we both kind of got choked up there. I give all the credit to my dad for my baseball career. Late nights, opening up the building when he was tired coming home from school and just working with me every day. I frustrated him sometimes and he frustrated me sometimes. I wouldn’t want anybody else to coach me and be in this situation with me. I owe everything to my parents, and especially my dad for putting all the hours in with me. It was one of the best moments of my life,” Malachi Antle said.
Minutes later, Harv Antle had the opportunity to place the state championship medals around the neck of both his sons Malachi and Silas.
“It was emotional, heartwarming. The last time I got to be coached by my dad. I couldn’t be happier to have that happen. I just love him so much. He did a lot for my baseball career. It was a super special moment,” Antle said.
Licking was a confident team coming into the final four. So confident that Harv Antle sported a Licking Wildcats Class 3 state champion hat postgame.
It was a confidence that had been cultivated since last August.
“They brought a lot of confidence. They are very self-assured and very well-trained. These guys work hard,” Coach Antle said. “We aren’t a football school. We have fall baseball, so all of that started back in August. We had some guys who aren’t winter sports guys train through the winter. When we started up in the spring we hit it hard again. The weight room is a big piece of that for us too. A lot of early mornings in the weight room building that team unity, strength, agility and athleticism. These guys are confident in their skill, believe in themselves and trust each other and know that they can get the job done. I think that is what you saw the last two days here. A very experienced and confident club.”
Three seniors graduate from this team including Wallace, Malachi Antle and Keyton Rinne. They leave behind a winning legacy.
“I think they leave the legacy that they put Licking baseball back on the map,” Coach Antle said. “All three of those guys played from their freshman year on. They know what hard work is like. They know what it is to be disciplined. They know what it is to be a good teammate. They have left that legacy of how to go about your business and how to do things the right way.”
Licking finishes the season with a record of 27-6 overall.
“I think we are going to be able to be remembered as a really good team and hopefully be the benchmark for teams that come after us,” Malachi Antle said. “I think these seniors left a legacy of working hard and doing the right things in baseball. That is the legacy you want to leave for the younger generation coming up.”
