Even though his high school baseball career at Montgomery County High School came to an end with a 10-0 loss to the Duchesne Pioneers in the Class 3, District 5 championship game on May 20 at Lindenwood University, Seth Walton still had reason to be happy about.

He played the entire 2026 season injury free.

A year ago, Walton missed most of the season due to an ankle injury. This season, he was one of the valuable players in the Wildcats’ outstanding season that included a school-record 19 victories and a share of the Eastern Missouri Conference championship.

“It’s a lot better than sitting from the bench and watching your team play without you,” Walton said. “Not being a part of anything, it really sucks watching from the sides. I’m really glad that I was able to stay fully healthy this year and play every game.”

MCHS finished 19-7 with the loss to Duchesne in the district finals. The Wildcats lost to the St. Charles school 10-0 in a regular season game at CarShield Field in late March.

The district championship contest ended with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, when TJ Griese drove in the Pioneers’ 10th run on a single to left. Griese also pitched a perfect game, retiring all 18 batters and striking out nine.

“That’s the third time we faced that kid,” MCHS coach Don Moultrie said. “We faced him last year at CarShield and the year before that at CarShield. We knew what he had. He’s a really good pitcher. He was out all of last year. He tore his UCL and had Tommy John (surgery). He got back three weeks ago.”

Duchesne scored six runs in the first, two in the fourth and two in the sixth to win its third straight district title. The Pioneers won a district crown in Class 4 last year.

The Wildcats made their first district championship appearance since 2021. They advanced to the district finals by beating Bowling Green 5-0 in a semifinal game that was played at MCHS on May 16.

The Wildcats finished with their fifth straight winning season and surpassed last year’s win total of 13. They set the record for most wins in a season with the victory over Bowling Green in districts. The old record was 18 that was set in 2019, when MCHS placed fourth at state.

“I think we improved ourselves this season,” Walton said. “There were a few games that we learned from, but I think we improved a lot since we started and that’s what every baseball season is all about. It’s about improving, not even as a player, but as a person, too.”

The district final was originally scheduled to be played at the Bridgeton Sports Complex, but it was moved to Lindenwood’s Lou Brock Sports Complex due to wet field conditions. The game was postponed twice because of the heavy rain that hit the area.

The semifinal games on May 16 were moved to MCHS because of the wet field conditions at Bridgeton.

Duchesne’s win in the finals ended the high school baseball careers of eight seniors – Walton, Chase Queathem, Colby Ellis, Mac Farrar, Noah Beck, Adrian Combs, Edwin Garcia and Landyn Bender.

“I had them forever,” Moultrie said. “I had them for three years and I’ve grown to really get close to all of them. I’m going to miss them a lot. They provided good leadership. They’re really positive.”

Beck suffered his first loss on the mound after winning his first eight games. He gave up all eight runs, including six in the first.

Walton played at shortstop and third base before coming in relief with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. He struck out three batters and gave up two hits.

Walton played all 26 games. He hit .353 with two home runs and 20 RBIs and was 3-1 with a 2.80 earned run average on the mound. At one point of the season, he was hitting .476. He also earned his first all-Eastern Missouri Conference award.

“It was a fun season for me,” Walton said. “It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had just being around these guys every day. They’re great people.”

Now, he’s hoping to carry that success with the Central Methodist University baseball team next year.

“It’s going to be a great challenge getting adjusted from seeing high school ball to college ball, but it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to,” Walton said. “I’m looking to improve every day and take every day seriously in being better.”