Westminster Brings Home First State Baseball Title In School History

By Timothy Butler

The Wildcats (27-4-1) used hits from seven different starters in their lineup and capitalized on five Savannah Savages to win the Creve Coeur school's first state baseball championship on Saturday in Springfield, MO.

After scoring 14, 9 and 15 runs in the team's charge through sectional play with wins over Lutheran, Kirksville and Kennett, Saturday's contest at Meador Park was a tighter affair.

The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the second, when freshman Shane Benes's chopper up the middle with two runners on base drove Connor Einertson home. Connor Larson later reached base on a Savannah error, bringing in Luke Turner.

“It doesn’t matter where at in the lineup, different guys contribute every day,” Head Coach Rich Van Gilst said about his lineup. “If you look at the scoreboard, we score in more innings than not.”

The Savages would even things up in the third, but Westminster went back to work in the bottom half. Tate Matheny singled, then stole second and took third base on a throwing error. He scored when the Savannah second baseman couldn't handle a Ryan Allee ground ball later in the inning. A Shane Benes walk led to another run making it 4-2 Westminster.

Wildcat starter, sophomore Ben Lovell, who battled a blister problem in his last start, got into a jam in the fifth. One run scored after a Benes error, two Savannah hits and two hit batters. But senior Alec Mitchell, who retired every batter he faced in relief during Friday's semifinal win over Kennett, came in with the bases loaded and got out of the inning unscathed, striking out one and knocking down a ground ball for the third out.

Westminster added two insurance runs in the home half of the sixth and Mitchell worked a flawless top half of the seventh, inducing a season-ending flyout to Tate Matheny in center as the team erupted in celebration after the third out.

“I was a little nervous there, a little shaky,” said Matheny of the routine play. “I was making sure to get underneath it and make sure it goes in my glove...I didn’t want to celebrate too early or else I will look like an idiot,” he said.  “I just wanted to catch it and celebrate after.”

The first state title in baseball history for the school comes in Westminster's waning days in Creve Coeur as it prepares to move to a new campus in Town and Country in the fall. The Wildcats lose some significant contributors, including Mitchell, Allee, Collin Henry and Andrew Beck, among others. But the squad stands to retain a potent offensive core, starting with Matheny, Turner, Einertson, with Lovell back on the mound.