The Montgomery County baseball team was a strike away from pulling off the biggest win of its 2025 season on April 24, when it took on North Callaway in a key Eastern Missouri Conference game at Auxvasse.

The Wildcats never got that strike.

The Thunderbirds came from behind to beat MCHS 7-6, sending the Wildcats back east on Highway B with their second heartbreaking loss in the month of April. Two weeks before, MCHS lost to Warrenton 7-6 after having a 6-0 lead.
A win over North Callaway would have helped the Wildcats stay in contention for the EMO championship as well as the No. 1 seed for the district tournament. But an RBI double by North Callaway’s CJ Cunningham with two outs in the bottom of the seventh washed away those hopes.

“That was very painful,” MCHS coach Don Moultrie said.

Now, the Wildcats hope to finish their season on a high note as the calendar turns into May. MCHS has nine games and will compete in the Class 3, District 7 tournament at South Callaway that month.

“I just want us to finish this year strong and find ways to get better,” Moultrie said.

Despite the loss to North Callaway, MCHS is off to a good start this season at 10-5. The Wildcats had a five-game winning streak that was snapped on April 17 with a 5-2 loss to Clopton on the road. MCHS is looking to finish with its fourth straight winning season.

MCHS has been getting strong contributions from its junior class after the first month of the season. Chase Queathem is the team’s top hitter at .429, Mac Farrar drove in a team-high 12 runs and is 3-0 on the mound, Eddie Garcia is hitting .400 and Noah Beck has three wins on the mound.

Another junior, Adrian Combs, delivered a huge hit in the contest against North Callaway, delivering a bases-loaded triple with two outs in the fifth that gave the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.

As the season approaches the final month of the season, the Wildcats have to play without junior Seth Walton, who strained a ligament in his foot and is out for the month. Moutrie said he hopes Walton returns by postseason.

Walton had a pair of wins on the mound and had eight hits and seven RBIs before getting injured.

“When he comes in the sixth or seventh inning, he holds,” Moultrie said. “I have never seen him lose a game in two years pitching. He always comes in late with some fire on.”

Jacob Hogue, the team’s only senior, extended his hitting streak to five games after getting a hit against North Callaway and boosted his batting average to .275.

MCHS is having strong seasons from a pair of freshmen in Jackson Benney and Marshall Bishop. Benney scored 13 runs and hit the team’s only home run against Van-Far on April 22. Bishop had three hits and picked up a pair of saves.

Against North Callaway, the Wildcats led 6-3 before the Thunderbirds scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to remain undefeated at EMO play at 8-0. North Callaway, which won the league title last year, took advantage of four MCHS walks in the inning to get the win.

“We gave it to them,” Moultrie said.

The Wildcats were leading 6-5 with North Callaway having runners on first and third with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Queathem, who came in relief for Garcia with no outs in the seventh, had two strikes on Cunningham before throwing a wild pitch that scored Carter Moore for the tying run. Then, he gave up the double to Cunningham that ended the contest.

Moultrie said he was pleased with the way his team performed offensively against the Thunderbirds. Going into the contest, North Callaway outscored its opponents 75-2 in EMO play.

“I thought we had good timely hitting,” Moultrie said. “Five runs were good because they couldn’t find the zone for a while. They had a few walks, then we got a few hits.”

With the loss to the Thunderbirds, the Wildcats are 1-1 against their district opponents.