Eugene baseball finishes in fourth at Class 2 state tournament

Ozark, Mo. (KMIZ)

On the final day of the high school state baseball tournament, the Eagles 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 2 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.