Despite suffering their worst loss of the season in district tournament play on May 20, the Montgomery County baseball team celebrated another outstanding season as it finished with its fourth straight winning record.

The Wildcats finished 13-8, surpassing last year’s win total of 12, and were 6-3 in Eastern Missouri Conference play. It’s also the ninth year in a row MCHS finished with 10 wins or more in a season.

The Wildcats had a five-game winning streak in mid-April that helped them finish with another winning season. They hit the 13-win mark after cruising past Louisiana 19-1 on May 8.

But for the fourth year in a row, MCHS was eliminated in the district semifinals as it lost 12-3 to South Callaway in the Class 3, District 7 semifinal round. The Wildcats came into the contest as the No. 2 seed.

MCHS stormed to a 3-0 lead until South Callaway – which was the host of the tournament – came back with 12 unanswered runs. The 12 runs allowed marked a season high for the Wildcats.

The game ended when senior Jacob Hogue grounded back to South Callaway’s Tucker Jones in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on.

Hogue is the only player the Wildcats will lose to graduation next year. He finished with a 313 batting average after starting off the season 1 for 17. He also had a team-high 21 hits.

The Wildcats got solid efforts from their junior class in Edwin Garcia, Chase Queathem, Noah Beck, Mac Farrar, Adrian Combs, Colby Ellis and Seth Walton. Garcia, Queathem, Ellis, Beck and Farrar were named to the all-EMO team.
Beck, Ellis and Garcia were first-team selections, while Queathem and Farrar were named to the second team.

Garcia led the Wildcats with a .418 batting average. He hit safely in his first seven games, including two-hits performances against Duchesne, Warrenton and New Bloomfield. He also did some pitching and picked up a victory.

Farrar was MCHS’ leader in RBIs with 16 and finished with a 5-1 record on the mound. Beck won four games, including a 9-0 shutout victory over Elsberry. Queathem finished with 19 hits, including a two-run homer against Wright City on May 13.  Combs had 11 hits, including a bases-loaded triple against North Callaway on April 24. Ellis finished with 16 hits and 13 RBIs. Walton had two wins on the mound before being sidelined for the season with a foot injury.

Freshman Jackson Benney was a strong addition to the Wildcats, tying Hogue for first on the team in hits and scoring a team-high 23 runs. He was one of four freshmen named to the all-EMO squad as he earned second-team honors.

The Wildcats began their season on March 21 with a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Patriots at O’Fallon. They split their first six games before going on a five-game winning streak.

MCHS scored in double digits five times, including 19-run efforts over Mark Twain and Louisiana. It also pulled off a 9-6, nine-inning win over Hermann.
The Wildcats also won games over St. Charles, Linn, Silex, New Bloomfield, Schuyler County, Harrisburg, Bowling Green, Mark Twain, Van-Far, Southern Boone and Elsberry.