The Fulton Hornets found themselves in a situation eerily reminiscent of their previous playoff meeting with the Duschene Pioneers seven years ago.
In 2009, Fulton overcame a 6-0 deficit to Duchesne in a Class 3 sectional by breaking out for six runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. The Hornets then scored the winning run in the ninth to pull off a dramatic 7-6 comeback and went on to finish fourth in Class 3.
Fulton found itself down to Duchesne 3-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth in Thursday night's Class 4 quarterfinal at the high school athletic complex. The Hornets were able to stage another stirring six-run rally in the inning and held on for a captivating 8-6 triumph over the Pioneers.
"Their pitcher (senior starter Hunter Eisenbath) was nails, he was solid," Fulton head coach John Brinkmann said. "I think he just finally ran out of gas."
Fulton (17-9) will now move on to the Class 4 semifinals and an all-North Central Missouri Conference confrontation against Boonville at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3, at CarShield Field in O'Fallon. The Pirates (25-5) - the top-ranked team in the state - advanced with a 7-5 quarterfinal win over St. Joseph Lafayette on Thursday night in Boonville.
The Hornets suffered a pair of narrow losses to the Pirates during the regular season - 3-2 on March 22 in Fulton and 4-3 on April 12 in Boonville.
"Boonville is a good team," Brinkmann said. "We have played them close both games. I expect this one will be the same way. Whichever team comes out and plays their game, will come away with the win.
"Hopefully that is, but we will have to be at our best to beat a team of that quality. I have faith in my boys. I know we'll come through, but we're going to be ready to battle."
Senior left fielder Zach Franklin started the Hornets' sixth Thursday night with a leadoff walk and was pulled for junior courtesy runner Devan Hudson, who went to second on junior catcher Isaiah Pani's single to left. Sophomore courtesy runner Solomon Huff replaced Pani.
Senior right fielder Trenton Clines then reached on an error on his bunt to load the bases. Junior pinch-hitter Cameron Vititoe - inserted for senior third baseman Tristan Steffens - hammered a double to right, scoring Hudson and Huff to put Fulton on top 4-3.
"Cameron Vititoe came up with a huge base hit for us," Brinkmann said. "I told him, 'Don't do too much, just drive it in the middle,' and he did his job. We pushed a few more runs across and that's our style.
"If we get one or two, we don't quit and we keep going. Turns out, we needed all them, so it's good."
Clines bolted home on a wild pitch, with Vititoe going to third. Junior center fielder Josh Quick came through with a one-out single to left, scoring Vititoe to make it 6-3.
After junior starter Luke Gray - who moved to second base in the fifth when junior Devon Keltner came on in relief - was hit by a pitch, Duchesne brought in sophomore Jacob Korba to relieve Eisenbath. Junior first baseman Jared Peery drove in Quick with a two-out single to left and Gray went to third on the play.
Gray sprinted home to extend the Hornets' lead to 8-3 and Peery moved to second when Korba threw past junior first baseman Luke Meisner in an attempt to catch Peery in a rundown.
"I told them I had confidence in them (before the comeback in the sixth)," Brinkmann said. "I've got trust in our guys and I tell them all the time, 'Guys, you're the best team out here, as long as you play.'"
The Pioneers (9-18) tried to rally in the seventh when they scored three times to close within two runs, but junior Alec Fleetwood came in to pitch and got the final out to pick up his first save of the season.
"They pulled through," Brinkmann said. "I looked at our assistant coaches and said, 'We like to make things difficult,' but I still believe in our guys and Alec came in and shut the door for that last out, and that was huge."
Duchesne jumped out to a quick lead when it tallied three runs in the top of the first. Fulton mustered only one hit through the first four innings before it produced two runs on two hits in the fifth.
Keltner walked with one out and Hudson went in as a courtesy runner. Hudson raced to third on Quick's single to left, with Quick moving to second on the throw. Hudson scored on Gray's groundout to second, with Quick going to third on the play.
Junior shortstop Devin Masek brought home Quick with a single to left as the Hornets closed within 3-2.
"We changed our approach at the plate and went the other way with it," Brinkmann said. "They (players) actually got together and one of our seniors, Zach Franklin, actually pulled them over and talked to them, and I think turned them around."
Quick and Pani were both 2-for-3 as the Hornets ended up with seven hits.
Keltner (3-2) threw 2 2/3 innings in relief of Gray to post the victory. Keltner allowed three runs on four hits, struck out one and walked two.
"I told them earlier today, 'Guys, we want a sign up there on the wall (next to the Hornets' other state tournament banners)," Brinkmann said. "And that's what we did. Hopefully we're not done and build off this momentum when we play next week."
Ryan Shiner can be reached at (573) 826-2423, or by email at [email protected].