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Show-Me Elite notches Top-3 finish at Gulf Shores

Kevin Oeth, Sports Editor
Posted 6/28/22

The 14U Show-Me Elite baseball team, based in Boonville, finished in the top three in the Perfect Game Gulf Coast World Series over the weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Elite consists of players …

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Show-Me Elite notches Top-3 finish at Gulf Shores

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The 14U Show-Me Elite baseball team, based in Boonville, finished in the top three in the Perfect Game Gulf Coast World Series over the weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Elite consists of players from Boonville, Blair Oaks, Sedalia, Columbia, Concordia, Ashland, and Fayette. The lone representative from Fayette is soon-to-be Falcon freshman Payton Oeth. The tournament hosted teams from Texas, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri.

The tournament began on Wednesday, with play running through Saturday. The Elite got off to a rousing start on Wednesday during pool play, defeating its opponents 15-1 and 10-0. On Thursday, the Elite survived again with no losses, winning its games16-2 and 8-0.  

The team entered the double-elimination round on Friday as the No. 1 seed and breezed through the first game 12-3, before holding on to win the second game by a score of 9-7 in a contest that was delayed by 45 minutes due to rain.

On Saturday, the tournament inexplicably shifted to a single-elimination format. In its first game, the Elite was defeated 12-7. The Elite jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first but allowed MBA51 (Mendez Baseball Association of McDonough, Georgia) to draw to within two by adding single runs in each of the next two innings. The Elite added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 5-2. That score held until MBA51 exploded with 10 runs in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 12-5 lead.

Oeth homered to dead center to lead off the bottom of the sixth and make the score 12-6. Boonville’s Jailyn Patel then walked with two outs. Patel was then forced to second when Boonville’s Chase Chamberlain drew a base on balls. Kaden Schulte of Blair Oaks then powered a ground-rule double to right-center to send Patel home and Chamberlain to third and make the score 12-7, but it was not enough as the Elite fell 12-7.

The loss was the first in the tournament for the Elite after having outscored its opponents 77-24 during its run. 

Immediately following the loss, the skies opened up and rain hit the area. The rain continued the rest of the afternoon and evening and into Sunday, causing event organizers to cancel the rest of the tournament with three teams (including the Elite) having only one loss.

Oeth performed well during the tourney with seven hits in 13 at-bats for a .538 batting average.

Oeth’s hits included two doubles, a triple, and a home run. He also drove in five runs and scored six.

On the mound, Oeth threw four innings of shutout baseball, striking out three and allowing only one hit.

The loss does not end the season for the Elite as it will participate in a tournament July 7-9. As of yet, the location has not been determined. The team will also participate in another tournament the following weekend.

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