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Both teams ran short on pitching arms late in the game. Columbia was playing its third game of the tournament, but had gone 13 innings against Hannibal in the opener and came down to the end before beating West in the winner's bracket final Sunday on a two-out hit by Chris Pfau, 8-7.
West got a seven-inning game against Washington to start the tournament, but lost a tough one to Columbia Sunday and had to hold off a surging Washington squad in the losers' bracket finals Sunday afternoon.
The team from O'Fallon needed to take two games from Columbia to advance with a worn pitching staff.
Game One
West did what it needed to do early in the first title contest on a warm and sunny Monday afternoon in Washington. A.J. Koenig's team pasted two runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. King and Donaldson scored runs. An error in center allowed the first run to score. Branden Smith got the big hit, a double, to bring home the second run.
Columbia went to work against Kyle Grayek in the second. Isaac Cater and Blake Jones singled. Rob Parcel walked to load the bases.
Neil Smith plated one run on a fielders' choice. Ian Fuemmeler and Grant Jones each singled home one run to make it 3-2.
Pfau drove a sacrifice fly to center to put Columbia on top and Nick Little singled to make it 5-2. In the third, Columbia went back to work and it looked like it might be a short night for those attending the game.
Drew Mitrisin singled to lead off and moved to second on a walk to Cater. Blake Jones hit into a fielders' choice which put runners on the corners. With two outs, Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Fuemmeler came up with a two-run single to center field to make it 7-2.
West needed to respond and it did so in the bottom of the third. Loraine belted the first of his three home runs on the day to cut the lead to 7-4. King scored in front of him.
After Columbia made it 10-4 in the fourth, West got two more runs back in the bottom of that inning. King doubled home Christian Hull and Robert Figueira to trim the lead to 10-6.
Columbia added another run in the fifth as Grant Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitrisin. That was the last run Columbia scored in the game.
West chipped back, scoring three more runs in the fifth. Donaldson, Smith and Koenig scored in the frame. Koenig escaped being picked off to get back to the bag at second and later scored. Smith, Hull and Figueira had RBIs. Columbia had to change pitchers, bringing Dalton Henry into the contest. He got out of the inning thanks to a play at the plate.
In the sixth, things began to turn for West. Donaldson grabbed a line drive and threw to first for a double play.
Columbia received the benefits of a controversial play in the sixth. West had scored to pull to within one run, 11-10, when Smith doubled home Sutton. West appeared to have the rally continue when Pfau dove for a ball in center field. Umpire Tom Swoboda ruled the ball was caught and the inning was over.
Sutton made a dazzling play at shortstop to start an inning-ending double play in the seventh. Momentum was swinging to West, but would it have enough time to catch Columbia?
In the seventh and eighth, West advanced runners but could not score. Blake Jones relieved Henry in the eighth for Columbia and escaped.
He wouldn't be so lucky in the ninth.
Purnell led off the inning by reaching on an error. Figueira bunted him to second. King walked to bring back the force. Sutton then singled to left field, plating Purnell with the tying run. King went to third and Sutton followed to second on the throw.
Columbia issued an intentional walk to Loraine to fill the bases.
Donaldson then delivered a single to bring King home with the winning run, forcing a second game, 12-11.
Game Two
After a pause to work on the field and to give the players and umpires a little rest, the teams picked up play again with West again being selected as the home team on the coin toss.
Short of pitching, West opted to go with Eddie Sutton, who played shortstop in the first game. Columbia countered with Fuemmeler, who had been in left field.
Sutton had pitched just once earlier this season, suffering a loss while throwing 2.2 innings with a 7.88 ERA.
Columbia jumped on top in the opening inning. With one out, Little walked and Mitrisin belted a two-run shot over the right field fence. West needed a big play by Purnell in left to get out of the inning behind, 2-0. Columbia did not score again.
West replied in its half of the first. King led off with a walk and Loraine belted a two-run shot over the center field wall to tie it at 2-2. From that point, it was all West.
Later in the inning, Hull drove home Smith with the go-ahead run. That lead held for quite some time before West broke the game open in the sixth.
Fuemmeler gave way to Parcel in the fifth and Parcel ran into trouble in the sixth.
With one out, Purnell walked. King singled with two outs. But the real fun started on a ball hit by Dan Frohock to left field.
Columbia tried to throw out Purnell, but he was safe. The return throw to third went into left field and King tried to advance. The throw back home got away and Frohock ended up all the way at third base. Loraine then smacked a ball which was mishandled at third base and Frohock scored to make it 5-2. Donaldson kept the rally going by doubling to left to score Loraine. Smith did the same for Donaldson with a single to center. An error added to the trouble. By the time Columbia escaped, it was 8-2.
In the seventh, Columbia ran out of pitching. Smith came to the hill in a number of Columbia moves made with little fanfare or action in the bullpen. With only 12 players at the game, Post 202 had to rely on spot appearances by position players.
King doubled home Purnell in the seventh to make it 9-2.
In the eighth, Loraine homered over the center field fence off of Smith. After Donaldson walked, Colin Kemble came in to pitch. Hull drove home Donaldson with the 11th run.
In the ninth, Sutton retired three in a row to finish off Columbia and push West to the State Tournament in Blue Springs.
Other teams qualified include Festus and Sedalia. Sedalia knocked out the defending state champion Rod's Sports A's in another Zone Tournament title game. Festus defeated Eureka in the Zone 4 Tournament.
West will be trying for the program's second state championship this season. West also won the Freshman State Tournament.
(See photo galleries for game photos)
