Ten months ago, the Montgomery County baseball team was defeated by the Elsberry Indians in the Class 3, District 6 finals at Elsberry.

On March 19, the Wildcats got an opportunity to play the Indians during a three-team, round-robin tournament at Elsberry to start their 2022 season.

“They were really excited,” MCHS coach Vince Wolk said. “The tri-match was new this year because we lost the Four Rivers tournament. The fact that we had Elsberry gave them motivation to play because that game meant a lot to them.”

The Wildcats made sure they weren’t going to lose Elsberry again as they defeated the Indians 8-2. Hours before, MCHS lost to the Pittsfield (Ill.) Saukees 9-7.

The win over Elsberry will give the Wildcats a huge boost for the rest of the season. MCHS is looking to finish with its first winning season since 2019.

“We have high expectations,” Wolk said. “We have two main goals. We want to win a conference title and a district title. Elsberry was one of the top teams in the conference last year. Beating them 8-2 was a big confidence booster.”

The Wildcats return eight starting players from last year’s team that finished 10-12, including all-state and all-Eastern Missouri Conference pitcher Evan Abercrombie, who picked up the win over Elsberry on the mound.

Other returning players include seniors Ethan Rakers and Lucas Pierson, juniors Harrison Bishop, Gunner Sexton and Travis Hill and sophomores Bryson Hoffmann, Mason Leu, Weston Marshall, Christian Naylor, Brayden Rose and Dayton Simmons. Rakers, Ellis and Hill earned all-conference honors in 2021.

Rounding out the team are freshmen Brayden Harris, Burke King, Lane Kluesner, Denver Cope, Zachary Welker, Tatum Wessel, Jacob Hogue, Jonah Happe and Bryson Nichols. Hogue and Wessel got some playing time in the two games against Pittsfield and Elsberry.

Last spring, MCHS started its season with a 1-0 win over Pacific in 11 innings. Later in the season, the Wildcats had a four-game winning streak, including a victory over top-seeded O’Fallon Christian in the district semifinals that advanced them to the championship game against Elsberry, which went on to finish fourth in the state.

Wolk said he was happy that his team got to play baseball after its 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“They were really excited to play last year and get experience,” Wolk said. “Now our kids are hungry and want more.”

The Wildcats started their EMO season on March 28 with a 6-0 win over Silex at home. They will play Elsberry again on May 4 at Elsberry. Last year, MCHS finished 6-4 in league play.

Wolk said Elsberry, Wright City and Bowling Green will challenge his team for the conference title this year. Wright City is the defending EMO champion.

Wolk is in his fourth season as MCHS head coach. He worked as an assistant under Don Moultrie for four years before taking over head coaching duties in 2019, the same year the Wildcats finished fourth in the state. Moultrie is the Wildcats’ new assistant coach this year.