After helping the Montgomery County boys basketball team make a huge run to the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown, Mason Leu was looking forward to getting back on the baseball field when he had his first practice on March 11.

“This is my relaxed sport,” the MCHS senior said. “I just come out here, hang out and catch fly balls and just play baseball.”

So far, Leu is off to a blazing start for the Wildcats as he is hitting .381 with a team-high 10 RBIs after eight games. He turned in a strong performance in his team’s Eastern Missouri Conference opener at Mark Twain on March 28, going 2 for 4 with three RBIs in the Wildcats’ 22-2 victory.

Leu, a center fielder, was one of seven MCHS players with at least one hit in the contest, which ended after three innings. The Wildcats scored seven in the first and 15 in the third.

“I got to hit a lot, so that was fun,” Leu said.

Also for the Wildcats, junior second baseman Jacob Hogue had two hits with three RBIs, freshman third baseman Edwin Garcia had a hit with three RBIS, senior shortstop Jake Stellwagen had a hit and three RBIs, sophomore catcher Colby Ellis and senior left fielder Bryson Hoffman each had a hit and two RBIs and senior first baseman Jace Ellis had a hit and and RBI. Sophomore Noah Beck got the win on the mound, striking out five and giving up two runs on five hits in three innings of work.

MCHS scored 20 or more runs in a game for the second year in a row. The team scored 20 against New Haven last year.

Last year, MCHS shared the EMO championship with Elsberry with a 9-1 record, its ninth league championship and its first since 2019. Leu said he hopes that he and his senior teammates will end their high school baseball careers with another EMO title.

“It would be perfect,” Leu said. “We all have been playing since our freshman year. I think we had only 10 guys in our freshman year. If we do it again, it would be something special.”

Leu helped the Wildcats win a share of the EMO title last spring by earning second-team all-conference honors.

“It’s always cool getting honors,” Leu said. “You really care about the wins, but if you get honors, that’s an extra plus.”

This winter, Leu sparked the Wildcats’ boys basketball team to a 25-7 season and a fourth-place finish at the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown, their first state appearance in 50 years. On March 27, a banner presentation ceremony was held at MCHS to honor the 2023-2024 basketball team. Leu was thrilled when he saw his name on that banner.

“I’ll be able to come back at 60 years old and just look and see my name up on the wall,” Leu said. “It’s something pretty cool.”

Now, Leu is setting his sights on helping his baseball team get a banner. Five years ago, the program finished fourth in the Class 3 state tournament.

“We have a lot of potential, but potential means nothing if you don’t do anything with it,” said Leu, who plans to play football at Culver-Stockton next year. “We’re just going to try to get better every day and maybe get the baseball gods on our side and get a few lucky plays here and there. Other than that, we’re going to work hard.”