One down, one to go

On Wednesday, the Oran High School baseball team bussed to O'Fallon to participate in the state Final Four. The Eagles were making their first baseball final four trip since the championship season of 2013.  Oran would face the Green City Gophers, who were in the final four for the first time ever.

Oran entered the game with a 16-9 record and ranked 3rd in the last coaches' poll.  The Gophers were 14-2 and ranked 6th.

The Eagles would score first with a lone tally in the second inning on their way to a 7-1 victory.

Cole Priggel led off the frame with a single, an errant pickoff attempt allowed him to scamper to third.  "K"ole Simms drove him home with a sacrifice fly to center.

In the third, Todd Priggel drew a two-out walk followed by an RBI double by Drew Reischman.  2-nothing Oran.

The Eagles added another in the fifth,   Denver Elfrink tripled with one down and scored on Todd Priggel's sac fly.

Meanwhile, on the mound, Layne Johnson was mowing them down.  He allowed only two singles and a walk through the first five while striking out eight.

Cole Priggel walked with one out in the sixth, moved to second on Simms' sacrifice bunt and came all the way home on Jacob Shoemaker's infield single to make the score 4-0.

Oran would all but put it on ice with three more in the seventh.  Elfrink doubled to leadoff and went to third on Johnson's single and scored on a wild pitch.  Johnson wound up at third after another wild pitch.  Johnson crossed on Todd Priggel's RBI groundout.  Reischman singled and scored on Cole Priggel's two-out double.

Green City got their only tally, an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh.  A misplayed one-out single put a runner on at second.  Then, with two-down,  a wild pitch third-strike combined with a throwing error allowed the runner to score.  But another strikeout ended the frame and the game and the Eagles were heading into the next day's championship.

Johnson improved to 9-3 as he went the distance allowing only the one unearned run on three hits, all singles.  He walked on and struck out 11.

Reischman was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.  Cole Priggel was 3-3 with a double and two runs driven in.  He walked in his other plate appearance.  Todd Priggel drove in two.  Elfrink was 2-3 with a double and a triple, he scored twice.