The South Callaway Bulldogs didn't allow themselves to be distracted while easily reaching their next destination.
Senior center fielder Cory Hanger had three hits, including a home run, and drove in five runs Saturday morning as No. 2 seed South Callaway blistered No. 7 Montgomery County 11-0 in five innings in the first round of Class 3, District 8 play.
First-round games were moved from Hallsville to South Callaway because of rain and the Bulldogs have a brand-new FieldTurf baseball facility.
Senior starter Terry Miles and freshman reliever Landon Horstman combined on a two-hit shutout for South Callaway (17-7), which also manhandled Montgomery County 13-0 in five innings on April 11 in Mokane.
"Our intensity level was there, we were disciplined at the plate and we were involved in every play, defensively," Bulldogs head coach Heath Lepper said. "The players are doing all of the little things you want to see them doing at the end of the season."
South Callaway will move on to face No. 6 seed Centralia (8-14) in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Logan Armontrout hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning Saturday as the Panthers stunned No. 3 seed North Callaway 5-4.
No. 4 seed Hermann squared off against No. 5 Hallsville in Saturday's final district game. Results were not available at press time. Top-seeded Father Tolton received a first-round bye.
Hanger - who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base - doubled home three runs in the bottom of the third inning and then punctuated South Callaway's scoring with a two-run home run in the fifth.
"Cory has kind of been that offensive rock for us all year," Lepper said. "He goes up to the plate and battles every time, and that's contagious."
The Bulldogs bolted to a quick 3-0 lead in the first. Hanger led off with a single to left, stole second and went to third on senior shortstop Dax Helsel's groundout. After senior third baseman Trevor Miller coaxed a walk, Hanger scored on junior right fielder Dillon Stone's single to left.
Miller advanced to third on the play and raced home to make it 2-0 when senior designated hitter Harold Woods drew a walk and the ball eluded Montgomery County's catcher. Two batters later, senior first baseman Caleb Sconce's sacrifice fly scored Stone.
South Callaway stretched its lead to 4-0 in the second on Helsel's RBI single, then piled on four runs in the third. Sconce supplied an RBI single and Hanger came through with his three-run double to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 edge.
Senior left fielder Mason Shoemaker contributed an RBI bunt single in the fifth and eventually came around to score on Hanger's two-run homer to center.
Stone went 2-for-2 as South Callaway collected 11 hits, while Miller also finished 2-for-2 with a double and had two of the Bulldogs' eight stolen bases. Sconce, Helsel and Shoemaker - who scored three times - were each 1-for-2.
"All of the guys were patient at the plate," Lepper said. "They got themselves into hitter's counts, they looked for pitches they could actually drive and they didn't get out of their comfort zone."
Miles allowed just one hit over four innings to record the victory. He struck out four and walked one. Horstman gave up the other hit in his one inning of work, striking out none and walking none.
"Terry got ahead in counts and hit his spots extremely well," Lepper said. "The plan was keeping his pitch count down, and he did that."
South Callaway prevailed in its only meeting with Centralia during the regular season, a 12-1 win over the Panthers in the March 23 season opener in Mokane.
"Defensively, we just want to make the routine play," Lepper said of Tuesday night's semifinal matchup. "Offensively, we want to swing at pitches we can drive."
North Callaway found itself down early when Centralia put up two runs in the first during their contest. The Thunderbirds got a run back in the second after senior left fielder Cole Branson drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to make it 2-1.
The score remained that way until the Panthers added to their advantage by tallying a run in the fifth. North Callaway immediately replied with three runs in the sixth to go in front.
Senior starter Brandon Hagedorn opened the inning with a double and scored when senior third baseman Trevor Crisp came through with a single. Crisp, though, was thrown out at second when he tried to advance on the play. After sophomore center fielder Alex Brazil walked, senior Michael Early - playing first base at the time - lofted a two-run homer to left, giving the Thunderbirds their first lead at 4-3.
North Callaway's celebration, though, was short-lived. Early came on in relief of Hagedorn and was the victim when Armontrout hit his decisive two-run homer to left in the seventh.
The Thunderbirds had one last chance for a dramatic comeback of their own when they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to get the tying and winning runs home. North Callaway ended its season with a 9-14 record.
"It was a back-and-forth game and I'm disappointed with the way it ended, but I was proud of the way the kids responded," Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal said.
Crisp finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and Hagedorn went 2-for-4 with a stolen base as North Callaway totalled eight hits, but stranded nine baserunners.
Early (2-3) suffered the loss, surrendering the two runs - one earned - on one hit in one inning. He struck out one and walked none. Hagedorn gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits over six innings, striking out six and issuing a pair of walks.