Eugene baseball finishes in fourth at class two state tournament

Ozark, Mo. (KMIZ)

On the final day of the high school state baseball tournament, the Eagles took a ended the season bringing a fourth place trophy back to Eugene.

Head coach Taner Helton's squad won their last seven games to reach the class two final four of the state baseball tournament, and after falling to Portageville in the opener, they were set to take on Miller in the third place game for a rematch of last year's title decider.

The Cardinals set the tone right away, getting on base with four of their first five batters and taking a 1-0 lead early, and was followed up by a bases loaded walk to double the advantage.

Eugene got a run back in the top of the second on a Chase Kempker RBI single, but another pair of walks with a full basepath quickly had the Eagles down by three.

Jack Libbert would bring in the second run of the day for Eugene with a base hit that dribbled past the third baseman in the fourth, but shortly after Miller caught fire once again. The Cardinals strung together a four-run frame in the bottom half of the fourth to go ahead by six, and then had another three runs score in the following inning to make it an 11-2 game.

That score would hold until the final out, securing a fourth place finish in class for the Eagles. They finish the year with a 21-12 record and making a second consecutive trip to Ozark. This is the fifth time finishing in the top four for Eugene in the school's history, and the second back-to-back trip to the final four.