MOUNT VERNON — In an emotional cross-county showdown, the Centerburg Trojans used one big inning, the fourth, to close the door on the Fredericktown Freddies’ season in the district championship game.
Leading 2-1 after three and a half innings, five Trojans crossed the plate in the bottom of that inning, leading to a 10-2 victory Thursday at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
The third-seeded Trojans next advance to Wednesday’s 2 p.m. regional tournament.
Preparing for the next step in the season, coach Josh Moss said his team must take the rest of the season one step at a time.
“We met behind the dugout after the game and told them they had a right to be proud of themselves and we wanted to celebrate, but that the season is not over,” Moss said. “There are more games to be played.”
Moss pointed out that this is only the second team from Centerburg to reach this level in tournament play.
This was the third meeting between the two schools, and the rubber match this season.
The Trojans won the first encounter 9-1. But just two days later, the Freddies claimed a 4-3 thriller.
Meeting on neutral turf at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, the teams clashed in front of a huge crowd. Moss said that when he asked who his team would like to play in the playoffs, the vote was not close.
“Every one of them said that they wanted to play Fredericktown,” Moss said. “It had nothing to do with skill level, but rivalry.”
The coach knew going in that mistakes would need to be kept to a minimum.
“We knew that they would take advantage of our errors and that we needed to take advantage of any that they might commit,” Moss said.
“I have to tip my hat to coach (Ryan) Hathwawy and the program he has built. They (Fredericktown) have set the standard for high school baseball. I knew when I came here that the standard set by Coach Hathaway was one we wanted to achieve. I have so much respect for him.”