NEW BLOOMFIELD - New Bloomfield set the stage for an all-Show-Me Conference showdown between Wildcats for the Class 2, District 8 title.
No. 3 seed New Bloomfield leaned on a six-run outburst in the bottom of the second inning and a four-run uprising in the sixth Tuesday night, charging to an 11-3 blitz of No. 7 Calvary Lutheran in the District 8 semifinals.
The Wildcats (13-9) were scheduled to square off against their SMC foe - the top-seeded and state-ranked Linn Wildcats - for the District 8 championship Wednesday night, but the game was rained out. Due to wet playing conditions at New Bloomfield, the title game has been rescheduled for 8 tonight and will be played at South Callaway because the school has a FieldTurf baseball surface.
Linn (22-3) reached the championship with a 7-0 triumph over No. 4 seed Iberia in Tuesday night's other semifinal matchup. Linn, which finished third in Class 2 last year, is ranked third in the state by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.
New Bloomfield will get a chance to avenge a 2-0 SMC loss to Linn on April 11. The game was played at Southern Boone in Ashland.
New Bloomfield head coach Justin Forsythe said Wednesday night that his players are savoring the opportunity to have another shot at Linn - with a trip to the state playoffs sweetening the stakes.
"The kids are hungry and ready for this challenge again, but we've got to be focused," Forsythe said.
Calvary Lutheran broke on top by tallying a run in the top of the second Tuesday night, but the Wildcats answered in a big way in their half of the inning. New Bloomfield tied the game when junior starter Tyler Fennewald scored after senior first baseman Boyd Kempker coaxed a bases-loaded walk.
Sophomore right fielder Zach Burton then reached on an infield error, with junior catcher Derek Shikles racing home on the play to put the Wildcats in front. Senior left fielder Sam Niedergerke followed by slashing a triple to right, scoring junior second baseman Clay Jensen and Kempker to make it 4-1.
Junior shortstop Grant Nichols continued the onslaught in the next at-bat, lining a single up the middle to bring home Niedergerke. Two batters later, Fennewald extended the lead to 6-1 when his single to left scored Nichols.
Calvary Lutheran added single runs in the third and fourth to narrow its deficit to three. New Bloomfield got a run back in the fifth when Jensen's RBI sacrifice fly scored freshman courtesy runner Nick Hammann.
The Wildcats then put the game out of reach with their surge in the sixth. Senior center fielder Tucker Lane bolted home on Shikles' RBI infield single to make it 8-3 and Wiler delivered another RBI infield single that scored Fennewald.
New Bloomfield's advantage blossomed to 10-3 on another RBI sacrifice fly by Jensen to bring home Hammann again. Kempker then closed out the Wildcats' scoring when his single to center scored Wiler.
Kempker finished 2-for-2 with two RBI and scored once to spark New Bloomfield's 11-hit output, while Niedergerke and Jensen were both 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI apiece and a run scored. Shikles was 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run, and Fennewald went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored two times.
"We were very selective at the plate," Forsythe said. "The pitches the kids were looking for, they took advantage of."
Fennewald limited the damage to just one run allowed while wriggling his way out of bases-loaded predicaments in the first and third. He went six innings to pick up the victory, allowing three runs - two earned - on six hits, striking out seven and issuing five walks.
"Tyler pitched good enough to win," Forsythe said. "It wasn't his best game but when he got into tough spots, he found a way to get out of them."