Pacific’s baseball season came to an end with a 5-3 loss to top-seeded Parkway South in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 4 Tournament Monday at Ballwin Athletic Association.
The fourth-seeded Indians (19-4) knocked off fifth-seeded Marquette in eight innings Saturday in the opening round, 2-1.
Parkway South (22-7) plays second-seeded Lafayette (23-8-1) in the championship game Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
“To go 19-4, if you would have told me we’d have that record at the beginning of the year and we were going to be playing Parkway South in the semifinals to this type of game, I’m pretty happy,” said Pacific Head Coach Jeff Reed. “I consider us a small school and to be going against bigger fish, that’s good for these kids.”
Marquette
Pacific broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to win Saturday at home over Marquette, 2-1.
Zeth Boyer started the eighth inning by reaching on an error and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Dean.
After a single by Hank Vandaveer put runners on first and third bases, Ryan Jones ended the game with a single to left field, which scored Boyer to give the Indians the win.
“It was one of the best high school games that I’ve been a part of and have been able to watch,” Reed said. “The momentum was going both ways. It was a great defensive game. It was a good high school atmosphere.”
Andrew David pitched all eight innings for Pacific to earn the win. He allowed one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
“If Andrew David is not the player of the year in the conference, then there’s something wrong,” Reed said. “He’s been our guy all year. I think we have two No. 1 pitchers with Andrew and Josh Moore. I have all the confidence in the world in both of them.”
Daniel Mannion got the start on the mound for the Mustangs, allowing one run in six-plus innings.
Kyle Ostrander worked the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one run.
Pacific took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a double by Nathan Bruns followed by an RBI single by Josh Conley.
Marquette (13-14) tied the game 1-1 with a run in the top of the fourth inning.
Both teams had golden opportunities to score in the seventh inning, but couldn’t.
A pair of singles and a balk gave Marquette runners at second and third bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning.
David struck out the next batter and then issued an intentional walk, which loaded the bases with one out.
The inning ended when Pacific shortstop Jones fielded a ground ball near second base, stepped on the bag and fired to first base for a double play.
“We played outstanding baseball to get out of the seventh inning without a run scored,” Reed said.
David then led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double. With Brandon Colter coming in as a courtesy runner, he moved to third base on a wild pitch with nobody out.
Bruns then ripped a hard ground ball to the right side, which tipped off the first baseman’s glove right to the second baseman, who fired home to nail Colter at the plate.
Pacific outhit Marquette, 8-5.
David led the way with two hits (one double). Tanner Brown, Vandaveer, Jones, Boyer, Bruns (double) and Conley each had one hit.
Jones and Conley both added one RBI. Boyer and Bruns both scored one run.
Parkway South
With the game tied 1-1, Parkway South scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to grab a 3-1 lead.
Both teams added two more runs in the contest.
“If you take that one inning away where they put some pressure on us, we were right there,” Reed said. “Those two runs they got were the difference in the game.”
Josh Moore pitched all six innings for Pacific. He allowed five runs on eight hits with six walks and 10 strikeouts.
“Josh did a great job getting out of the first inning, which scared the death out of us,” Reed said. “For him to come out unscathed and to give us a chance was a big deal.”
Michael Patterson pitched 5.2 innings for the Patriots. Tyler Omlid worked the final 1.1 frames.
“That’s their best pitcher,” Reed said of Patterson. “He wasn’t overpowering. He got some of us the second time through swinging at that curveball and the changeup in the dirt.”
Pacific collected six hits, two apiece by David (one double) and Jones. David scored one run and Jones crossed the plate twice.
Moore and Bruns both had one hit. Bruns added two RBIs. Conley walked and had one RBI.
“This group of seniors had a great ride. It’s been a great four years of baseball at Pacific. The number of wins they’ve accumulated is unbelievable,” Reed said. “We have some good kids coming back and some young kids coming in who can step in and do good things for us.”
