Big-game hunters stalking another state championship – there’s no better way to describe the Festus High baseball team.
In the wild, tigers are predators, and so is Festus on the diamond. It has talented, seasoned pitchers, especially from the left side, who can turn the lights out on any lineup. They have seniors looking forward to playing in college after one more shot at state prep glory. And the veteran coaching staff is led by head coach Jeff Montgomery, who’s been with the program for 29 years, 13 as an assistant and 16 as head coach. His assistants are Kevin Lucas (former head coach at Hillsboro), Barry Stafford (24 years), Austin Burgert (11) and Matt Gurnow (eight).
The Tigers hosted the Davenport/Buechting Classic March 21-22 and opened with a 5-1 win over Fox. The next day, the Tigers faced Class 6 power Jackson and kicked the Indians back down I-55 with a 3-1 victory.
Like the dynastic Festus cross country program, the baseball team has become a model of consistency on the state level. The Tigers have won the Class 5 District 1 title four consecutive years, finished second in the state in 2022 and won it all in 2023, their first state title. The roster continues to roll over with a fresh supply of talent at the plate, in the field and on the mound.
Senior center fielder Brady Nolen had a triple and a walk and scored twice in the two games.
A first-team all-Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools selection last year, Nolen hit .343 and stole 27 bases. He called the win over Class 6 Jackson a statement game.
“We have a culture where we come to practice every day and try to get better,” said Nolen, who plans to play for Crowder College in Neosho. “We don’t take a rep off. We have great leaders who stay locked in and focused and you see the results in games.
“We’re coming. We’re hungry and we’re going to make it last.”
Senior left-hander Mason Schirmer, a two-time all-state honoree and last year’s player of the year in the JCAA, heads the powerful pitching staff. He was 9-2 last year with four complete games, a 0.69 earned run average and 107 strikeouts in 61 innings and was a major contributor to the Tigers’ team-record 13 shutouts. When he’s not pitching, he plays first base, batting .313 last year with 26 runs batted in. He has signed to play for another pack of Tigers at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Schirmer was the winning hurler against Fox, scattering four hits over four scoreless innings, with seven strikeouts. The victory was the 20th of his career.
“This year’s going to be special,” Schirmer said. “(It will be hard) leaving the coaches. They’re always there for you. I want to win for the community and the school. We want to build a legacy here.
“We had a big game (against Jackson) and watched them the previous game and knew we were the better team. We scored two runs in the first and never looked back.”
For the second year in a row, Festus has a finalist in the Rising Star award sponsored by the Missouri Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Last year Hayden Bates was the Tiger nominee and this time it’s Schirmer.
“This is quite an honor for our program; two years in a row is unprecedented,” Montgomery said.
While Schirmer is the ace, the Tigers also have plenty of face cards to lay down. Junior lefthander Jackson Smith was 7-0 with an ERA of .70 and had 54 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings.
Cale Schaumburg transferred from Crystal City and adds another veteran arm with college potential. Sophomore righty Jackson Ijames is the No. 4 starter. Adding even more depth are sophomore lefties Nathan Womack and Jack Kester, who primarily play on the junior varsity.
Seniors Caleb Axtetter (outfielder) and Layton Wenstrom (designated hitter/catcher) are key returnees; Wenstrom hit .264 in 65 plate appearances. Senior Calvin Ellis is coming back from a knee injury. A newcomer to the varsity, senior Nolan Kausler, provides defensive help and speed. Junior Brayden Beers is at third base.
Sophomores Cole Malusky (catcher), Brayden Good (shortstop, second base) and Cooper Schilly (second base) were all starters as freshmen. Sophomores Henry Brown (third base, pitcher) and Parker Perry (outfielder, pitcher) also supply talented depth.
Last year Festus won the conference, sweeping all eight games, and finished 25-8 after bowing out to Webster Groves in the quarterfinals. The Tigers travel to Kentucky on Friday for three games in two days. Festus is again in Class 5 District 1, with the only change being Windsor is out and Poplar Bluff is in.
“We have a very challenging schedule and it requires you to pitch deep into your staff on a weekly basis,” Montgomery said. “We will be tested.
“These kids we have are so driven to win. They just want to win and get back to where we have been before and try to do it again. We are going to be young at some spots, but they are good ballplayers. We could have four or five sophomores on the field at a time.”
Dragons look to build off 2024
De Soto righted the ship last season with a record of 15-12, but showed it still has room to improve after finishing 2-6 in the conference; the Dragons’ two wins were over Windsor.
After starting this season with a 9-3 win over Gateway Legacy Christian on March 20, De Soto was blanked twice at the Festus Davenport/Buechting Classic, falling 6-0 to Fox and 7-0 to Jackson.
Junior Blake Coleman, a second-team all-JCAA pick last season, was the winning hurler against Gateway, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and striking out five. He finished last season 5-2 with a 1.17 ERA, striking out 64 in 36 innings. He also bats leadoff and plays center field, hitting .282 in 2024 with three triples and 18 RBIs.
The No. 2 starter is junior right-hander Nate Christopher, moving up from the JV. He was the losing pitcher against Fox, allowing four runs on seven hits.
“We’re expecting (Christopher) to eat up a lot of innings this year,” head coach Tyler Beers said. “He threw a lot last year on JV. The varsity’s different. You have to be able to pitch ahead in counts, and today (vs. Fox) he was behind a lot.”
The Dragons’ most versatile player is junior Connor Heister, who handled multiple positions last year while batting .288 with seven doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 22 runs batted in. He also pitched 28 innings with a 3.75 ERA and 26 strikeouts. That was enough to earn him first-team all-conference honors in the utility spot.
Senior Connor Casey starts at shortstop after seeing limited action last year while showing some ability to manage the infield.
“We have a lot of capable guys who can lead us in different areas,” Beers said. “We don’t have just one guy who is our main player. All of the guys need to step up in the roles they play. I expect us to be strong defensively and (in) pitching. Our hitting’s going to come around.”
De Soto hosts Park Hills Central (0-3) on Friday.
Hawks get split in Ste. Gen
Hillsboro opened its season March 22 at Ste. Genevieve with an unusual doubleheader, losing 4-3 to Valle Catholic but rebounding to knock off the Ste. Gen Dragons 12-5.
Against Ste. Gen, Hillsboro pounded out 13 hits and senior center fielder/pitcher Aiden Roland was three-for-three with three runs scored and three RBIs. Junior third baseman/pitcher Hunter Grewe stroked three hits and drove in three runs.
Some coaches have quick hooks this time of year and head coach Matt Thompson sent five pitchers to the mound to subdue the Dragons. Senior Gunner Sutton worked three frames and earned the win, allowing two runs on three hits. Sophomore Cameron Hill put up all zeroes in two innings.
Junior Jackson Marks, the presumptive staff ace, pitched five innings against Valle, yielding four runs on four hits and five walks, with seven strikeouts. He’s got big shoes to fill after the Hawks lost all-JCAA first-teamers Gavin Hite and Dominic Sutton (Gunner’s brother) and their 15 combined wins to graduation.
“We’re lacking starters but have a lot of quality bullpen arms,” said Thompson, starting his third year.
Another graduated standout Hillsboro will miss is Cohen Linderer, who hit .373 and stole 31 bases. Thompson said the good news is a good part of the batting order returns.
Sutton, a second-team all-league infielder, is back at shortstop. He hit .375 last year and tied his brother with a team-leading 19 RBIs. Senior second-baseman Easton Day batted .384 in 99 plate appearances. First baseman Keynen Drury, a senior, hit .353 and struck out only six times in 87 trips to the plate. Junior Noah Gaudet will back up Day at second.
Sophomore Zach Partney is behind the plate again; he hit .300 as a freshman. His twin brother, Max, plays third base and hit .323 with two home runs and 18 RBIs.
In the reconstructed outfield are senior newcomer Cole Wynn and juniors Nick Groner and Riley Wallace. Groner also pitches and fills the DH spot.
“We have guys who consistently drive the ball out of the park during BP (batting practice), like we’ve not had before,” Thompson said.
Windsor winless in first two games
The Windsor baseball team started its season on the wrong foot, losing back-to-back games March 21-22 in the St. Charles West Tournament. The Owls fell to the host Warriors 6-2 Friday and got hammered 19-1 in five innings by St. Louis University High on Saturday.
It was déjà vu for Windsor, which lost its first three games a year ago and finished a disappointing 9-16-1 overall and 1-7 (last place) in the large-schools division of the Jefferson County Activities Association.
“We ran across a good team and they put it to us,” Windsor head coach Randy Green said after the loss to the Junior Bills. “We kept some arms fresh and didn’t throw them very deep (into the games), so hopefully we can come back and see what we can do against Parkway South.”
The Owls played the Patriots (2-0) as the tournament continued Monday, after the Leader deadline. South clubbed SLUH 15-1 and St. Charles West 9-2 in its first two games.
Windsor’s two all-JCAA pitchers (second team) return this season and they started the two opening games. Against St. Charles West, senior Scott Cole pitched four innings, allowing one run on three hits, with four strikeouts. At the plate, he doubled to drive in the two Owl runs. Seniors Nate Estopare and Keegan Murphy pitched in relief. A second team pick as a utility player last year, Murphy fanned four but was tagged for four hits and four runs (three earned).
Senior Adam Streicher started against SLUH and lasted two innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs (five earned). Sophomores Brody Green (the coach’s son), Casen Siegel and Conner Fowler all took a turn in relief, but only Siegel left unscathed, giving up a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
Windsor’s third starter on the mound is Estopare. Murphy will be used primarily in relief and play second base as well.
“And after that, it’s a whole lot of young guys,” Randy Green said of his pitchers. Sophomore Lincoln Forchee can play third base, shortstop and outfield and also pitch.
Senior catcher Jeremiah Palmer, the starter last year, will be behind the plate for at least 95 percent of the innings, “if not more,” Green said. Brody Green backs up Palmer and can also handle first base.
After helping the Windsor basketball team win the JCAA title this winter, juniors Ethan Shirk and Owen Haegele return to the outfield. Haegele was an all-conference second-teamer in baseball last year and in basketball this winter. He’s offensively-minded in both sports, hitting .325 with seven extra-base hits and 12 runs batted in. Sophomore newcomer Conner Fowler will play in the outfield and pitch; he played Little League ball with some of his Owl teammates.
Despite its standing in the conference a year ago, Windsor gave league champion Festus a pair of good battles, losing 2-0 and 6-1 in back-to-back games.
“Festus has those good pitchers,” Green said. “We played them tight last year.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association moved Windsor from Class 5 District 1 to District 2, which includes power programs John Burroughs, Vianney and Webster Groves. The Statesmen shut out Festus in the Class 5 quarterfinals last year and finished second in the state.