Kickapoo grabs a Baseball District Championship for the first time since 2008, how it happened by Kelsey Kane

Kickapoo Grabs District Championship

Kelsey Kane

Kickapoo won the Class 5, District 11 baseball championship on Tuesday night at Kickapoo

High School in a finish that was nothing short of dramatic.

The game between the Chiefs and Ozark seemed routine going into the seventh inning. Top-

seeded Kickapoo had a 1-0 lead and was one inning away from the district championship. But

two-seed Ozark forced the completion of the inning before Kickapoo walked away with the 3-2

win in the bottom of the seventh. Kickapoo's winning run came from a two-out walk thrown by

Collin Fraley on a bases loaded situation.

Before the seventh inning, Kickapoo possessed the lone run of the game, and with two outs in

the top of the seventh, the Chiefs looked like they had the game wrapped up. With Caleb Essick

at bat, reliever Tristan Stevens on the mound for Kaleb Schmidt, and Ozark runners on second

and third, Kickapoo needed one out to claim the district championship and it was in sight as

Essick popped up a hit between center and right fields.

But the two outfielders collided and the ball fell to the ground, allowing Ozark to bring in both

runners and claim the lead 2-1 for the first time in the game.

"I tried to keep my composure but, you know, things got out of hand," said Stevens. "Got back in

the dug out, we were just trying to stay calm, do what we do one swing at a time, make them

work and let's see what happens."

Adam Link finished out the inning for Kickapoo and Ozark now held the upper hand on the team

Ozark coach Mike Essick said was the best team in southwest Missouri.

With Fraley on the mound, Ozark notched one out, and Kickapoo sent out pinch hitter Brad

Jarman who sent one towards second base and beat the throw to first. Westin Gann provided a

sacrifice bunt to advance courtesy runner Gus Reasoner, who stole third base soon after. Fraley

walked Riley Herron and a deep hit to center field from Preston Keisker brought in the tying run

and sent Kickapoo fans into a frenzy.

Danny Crews was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Kickapoo with two outs, and Stevens

was up to bat. Fraley walked Stevens, allowing Herron to score and the Chiefs to claim the walk-

off win and their first district championship since 2008.

"You always want to be that big hero," said Stevens. "But I'll take a walk. I mean, it won

districts."

Kickapoo coach Jason Howser said Stevens has a great mentality and sometimes doing your part

means taking the walk.

"We talked about it, you know, doing your part and we talked about that all year," said Howser.

"Your part may be taking a walk, your part may be a sacrifice bunt, maybe a base hit. But it's

huge having the discipline to lay off that and good things worked out for us."

Howser said he believed, as well as his team, that they had the game won when Caleb Essick hit

to the outfield.

"We thought we had the game won on the fly ball to center field. Both players said they called

for it but obviously not loud enough," Howser said. "Center field has the right of way there, but I

guess the baseball gods made things even at the end of the day."

Howser said he didn't say a word when his team returned to the dugout.

"They actually called a team meeting. Danny Crews, Kaleb Schmidt, they got in there and they

decided they were going to keep firing every bullet we had until we were out of bullets, and it

was great to see."

In the opposite dugout, Ozark felt the defeat of the tight game, but Mike Essick said he's proud

of the way his Tigers improved the school's baseball program this season.

"To turn the program around like this group of kids did, especially those three seniors, I mean

that's a tribute to them," said Mike Essick. "We were 8-18 last year and only won two conference

games and those three guys and the rest of the guys stepped up and turned this program around

and got it back to what it used to be like."

Ozark went undefeated in conference play this year and had a good district run, including a win

via walk-off home run against Branson on Monday night. The Tigers will graduate seniors

Fraley, Mike Essick's nephew, Caleb, and Zach Wells.

"Both ways it was going to be tough for either team no matter who won it," said Mike Essick. "I

mean you saw two heavyweights going at it, both pitchers threw outstanding, both teams played

well. It was unfortunate how they let us take the lead in the seventh and then it just kind of went

back and forth. It was going to be tough no matter who lost."

Kickapoo will play the District 12 winner, either Republic or Webb City, on Thursday May 28.

Location and time are yet to be determined.