Kelly eliminated in district play

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Kelly's baseball season came to an end on Wednesday in the Class 2, District 2 Tournament at Ste. Genevieve Valle with a 3-2 loss to St. Vincent in extra innings.

With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth, St. Vincent's Brett Richardet reached with a double. Justin Ruessler followed up with another double, allowing Richardet to plate the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the eighth, Kelly's Michael Heuring reached on a single. He later advanced to third on a passed ball, putting himself in an excellent position to score with just one out.

The Hawks were unable to take advantage though as St. Vincent squeaked out the victory.

"It was a great game from start to finish," said Kelly head coach John Gandt. "There was a lot of heart on both sides, nobody wanted to go home. It just happened to go their way tonight."

Kendal Deason was the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs on 10 hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

At the plate, Jarod Staggs was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lee Ziegler was 1-for-3 with a double and a run and Caleb Daughtee was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run.

For St. Vincent, Dusty Cissell picked up the win. At the plate, Richardet was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer. Alex Armbruster was also 2-for-4.

Kelly ends its season with an overall record of 10-11.

"We started out real shaky, and I'm very proud of these boys for the way they put it together in the second half of the season," said Gandt. "We weren't really looked on highly by the public after losing so many seniors last year. But these guys really showed they had what it takes to compete."

Kelly will lose seniors Major Burger, Todd Brucker and Staggs. The rest of the team returns, giving Gant high hopes for next season.

"We're returning some really strong players," said Gandt. "I'm looking forward to seeing what these kids can do. We have a good crop on our varsity team right now with the two Deason boys, Trey Simmons and freshman Caleb Daughtee. We also have some other strong freshmen that stayed on the junior varsity this year that will step up. I'm looking for a strong future for Kelly Hawk baseball."