Hayden Bates will be the first to tell you he’s not a “self-made” baseball player.
“The coaches and teammates made me the best player I could be,” said Bates, a junior shortstop, who was selected the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools player of the year after helping Festus win the Class 5 state championship earlier this month.
Soon after the Tigers beat St. Francis Borgia 8-1 to win the school’s first state title in baseball, Bates caught up with his summer team, the St. Louis Prospects 17U. Bates said the previous two seasons for Festus – a quarterfinal run in 2021 and second place last year – prepared the Tigers (27-8) for their march to the title this spring.
“It helped us out a lot,” he said. “After we lost the championship to Platte County last year, we had some fire in us. We didn’t want the same outcome and (head coach Jeff Montgomery) put the best pitcher on the mound and it worked to our advantage.”
Playing behind a ground-ball pitcher in sophomore lefthander Mason Schirmer against Borgia, Bates made five putouts and had three assists. He was part of five outs in a 2-0 shutout over Fort Zumwalt South in the semifinals, behind another lefty, Ian Brown.
But it was at the plate where Bates stood apart. For the season he hit .422 and smashed a team-best 17 extra-base hits (seven doubles, three triples and seven home runs) and led Festus with 41 runs batted in. He had two hits and an RBI in the final games.
“He was the best player in the conference this year,” Montgomery said. “We had the most first-teamers (five players at six positions) and rightfully so. Our guys worked hard to get us back to state and they are deserving.
“Honestly, we had two first-team pitchers and we could have had four. Based on how things work, that’s not going to happen. We had several pitchers who would have been the best on any other team in the league. That is a testament to our talent, but also our work in the weight room in the offseason.”
Bates has played for three straight district champions. Many of the players who built that legacy have graduated, but with Schirmer and several other starters returning, the Tigers haven’t lost their hunger for more.
“I’m going to try and be a leader and not be satisfied about winning state and go back to Ozark and win it again,” Bates said. “And be the best person I can be as a leader.”
In the semifinals, Schirmer played first base, had a hit and drew two walks while Brown fired a complete-game shutout against the Bulldogs. For the Tigers’ second-straight final, Montgomery handed the ball to Schirmer, who earned the win, pitching five and 2/3 innings and allowing one run. For the season, Schirmer led a talented staff with a record of 8-1 and a 1.09 earned run average. He had 73 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings. At the plate, he hit .330 and was second on the team with 34 RBIs. Schirmer made first-team as a pitcher and infielder.
The other Tiger first-team pitcher is senior Nate Moore, who relieved Schirmer against Borgia and allowed one hit in one and 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Moore was a starter and reliever this spring and piled up 40 1/3 innings with a 2-2 record and a 1.20 ERA. He was the starting pitcher in the 10-0 win over Clayton in the quarterfinals.
Behind every successful pitching staff is a rock-solid catcher, and Festus had one in first-teamer Tyler Bizzle. The senior hit .333 with nine doubles and 33 RBIs, including a three-for-four performance with an RBI in the state final. Behind the plate, it was hard for the opposition to run against the Tigers; they didn’t give up a single stolen base in the final four games.
Batting leadoff against Borgia, Brady Nolen, a sophomore, reached base safely in five plate appearances with four hits and a walk. The swift Nolen played center field for Festus and was a first-team outfielder. He led the Tigers this year with 12 stolen bases, hit .402 and had three triples and 29 RBIs.
“We played the best and most competitive schedule by far in the conference, and I know that prepared us tremendously when it really counted,” Montgomery said. “We had many boys who had great years and I’m happy for them and the individual awards, but winning the ultimate team award is the best you could ask of any of them.”
Midway through the season, Festus and Hillsboro split their conference games, both decided by one run. The Hawks (20-5) went on to finish 7-1 and the Tigers 6-2, handing Hillsboro the league crown in Matt Thompson’s first year as head coach. Thompson led the Hawks to their first 20-win campaign since 2003 and was named the large-schools coach of the year. Hillsboro filled five positions with four first-teamers.
A 4-1 loss to Windsor in the Class 5 District 1 semifinals ended Hillsboro’s season.
“It’s a huge honor, especially for my first year to come into a prominent conference with Festus, Windsor, De Soto,” Thompson said. “To be voted (in) by your peers at that level is a really nice honor. It solidifies the hard work and time put in.
“Winning the conference wasn’t on our radar, but beating Festus once changed our whole attitude. The way things shook out, we had a chance to win (conference) with the way we played. Once we tasted blood, the kids wanted that title and battled their butts off for it.”
Like Festus, Hillsboro had a deep pitching staff, and sophomores Keynen Drury and Dom Sutton were named to the first team. Drury was 5-0 with a 2.47 ERA while Sutton led the team with eight wins, had an ERA of 2.05 and averaged more than a strikeout per inning.
“(Sutton) throws three pitches for strikes and commands them all,” Thompson said. “He wants to win and compete.”
Early in the season, Drury registered wins against Class 6 schools Seckman and Northwest. He also was one of the Hawks’ top hitters, batting .386 (after a one-for-17 start) to earn first-team infielder honors.
“He was hot as fire the rest the way,” Thompson said after Drury broke out of his slump. “We’re expecting big things out of him the next couple of years.”
Until this year, Jaxin Patterson was better known as a football standout at linebacker and running back and helped Hillsboro win a district title last fall. Now he’s in the spotlight for baseball as well, earning a first-team spot on the infield. Patterson locked down shortstop and hit .430 with seven doubles and 26 stolen bases. To watch him thundering toward second or third for a stolen base was one of the season’s highlights for Thompson.
“He had a phenomenal year at the plate from start to finish,” Thompson said. “He had double- digit extra-base hits and was second on the team in RBIs. We will miss his bat.”
A true utility player, senior Zach Reynolds made the first team for the Hawks, playing first base, third base and designated hitter and posting the team’s best batting average at .434. He also pitched more than 20 innings out of the bullpen.
“He was coming off a season where he had single-digit at-bats,” Thompson said. “He proved technically to be the best hitter on the team.”
Going into the Class 5 District 2 tournament, Windsor had dropped five straight games. But the Owls (16-15) ended up with a winning record after a pair of 4-1 wins over De Soto and Hillsboro. For the second year in a row, Festus ended Windsor’s season in the district final, this time in Imperial.
“(With) the amount of talent Coach Montgomery had, (it showed) pitching wins,” Windsor head coach Randy Green said. “Hats off to them. I’m happy for them. It shows the parents and players who think grass is greener elsewhere how good baseball is in this (conference).”
Three years ago, Austin Happel transferred to Windsor at the same time Green became head coach. Happel immediately impressed Green with his talent and desire, and after being the JCAA large-schools player of the year as a junior in 2022, he repeated as a first-team pitcher and infielder.
Happel led the Owls with 10 starts and an ERA of 2.94 over 47 and 2/3 innings, with 53 strikeouts. At the plate, Happel hit .344 with 10 doubles and 21 RBIs.
“He deserved it,” Green said of Happel’s double nod. “He’s the heart and soul of our team and the reason why he was our captain for the last two years. His pitching record didn’t show it, but he threw all of our top games.”
Playing center field, Brayden Kreutz seldom saw a fly ball he didn’t think he could catch. Green said Kreutz made a “Jim Edmonds-type catch” against Fox, invoking the former St. Louis Cardinal all-star center fielder. Kreutz hit .313 and stole 14 bases.
“He was an infielder when he was younger, but I said, ‘With your speed, you have the ability to play center field,’ and he scoffed at it a little,” Green said. “His dad talked to me this year and said, ‘I finally see it.’ He turned out to be fantastic. He’s got wheels, arm and a glove.”
Two years removed from its last JCAA large-schools title, De Soto turned a 1-7 start this year into a 13-14 mark, four wins better than in 2022.
De Soto freshman Blake Coleman has three more seasons to help the Dragons get back on top after being selected as a first-team outfielder. Coleman led De Soto with a .354 batting average to go with 16 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs. He also posted a 2.03 earned run average in 10 1/3 innings of mound duty, including two starts.
“Mechanically, he’s very consistent with the way he drives the ball for power,” De Soto head coach Matt Buechting said.
Buechting added that the pitching in the conference is as deep as he’s seen.
“When you’re playing a team like Festus two or three times a season, our conference is one of the more competitive ones in the area,” he said. “Our goal always is to push for a conference title, and then we play the same teams in districts.”
All-JCAA large-schools baseball
First team
Pitchers: Mason Schirmer, Festus; Dom Sutton, Hillsboro; Keynen Drury, Hillsboro; Austin Happel, Windsor; Nate Moore, Festus
Catcher: Tyler Bizzle, Festus
Infield: Hayden Bates, Festus; Austin Happel, Windsor; Jaxin Patterson, Hillsboro; Dom Sutton, Hillsboro; Mason Schirmer, Festus
Outfield: Brady Nolen, Festus; Blake Coleman, De Soto; Dane Lauck, Perryville; Brayden Kreutz, Windsor
Utility: Zach Reynolds, Hillsboro
Second team
Pitchers: Brayden Brown, De Soto; Troy O’Keefe, Perryville; Brayden Montgomery, Festus; Adam Streicher, Windsor
Catcher: Barrett Wheeler, Perryville
Infield: Troy O’Keefe, Perryville; Cole Scott, Windsor; Chase McAllister, De Soto; Max Hartmann, Windsor
Outfield: Cohen Linderer, Hillsboro; Lucas Weiler, Windsor; Nate Seibert, De Soto
Utility: Ayden Kveton, Windsor
Honorable mention
Pitchers: Max Hartmann, Windsor; Ian Brown, Festus; Cole Skaggs, Festus
Infield: Brayden Montgomery, Festus; Steven Woelich, De Soto; Jeremiah Cunningham, Festus
Outfield: Jackson Gross, Festus; Wyatt Huskey, Festus; Nate Estopare, Windsor; Keegan Murphy, Windsor; Jaxon Day, Hillsboro; Kobe Stacy, Hillsboro; Canyon Stout, Hillsboro
Utility: Adam Green, Perryville; Gavin Hite, Hillsboro
Player of the year: Hayden Bates, Festus
Coach of the year: Matt Thompson, Hillsboro