The Chillicothe Hornets traveled to Moberly on Friday afternoon for the first round of the competitive Class 4 District 7 baseball tournament. All five teams in the bracket finished the regular season .500 or better, and the first game featured #4 Chillicothe 13-10 vs #5 Macon 9-9. The regular season matchup scheduled between these two teams was rained out so it was the first meeting of the year.
Chillicothe started senior pitcher Justin Pyle on the mound, as the Tigers went to bat first. With the bases loaded in the first inning, Skyler Anderson hit a two RBI single to give Macon an early advantage. Chillicothe responded later in the first, Jack Marshall got things started with a leadoff single and turned that into a run thanks to Noah Rinehart’s RBI. The Hornets trailed 2-1 after the first but Macon’s strong start continued, adding another in the 2nd and one more in the 3rd to go up 4-1. Chris Still took control on the mound for Chillicothe and pitched two scoreless innings in relief to keep the score static at 4-1 entering the 6th.
Macon’s Ryder Lewis extended the Tigers lead with a double that led to him scoring in the 6th inning, which brought the Hornets to the plate down 5-1. A single by Koby Wagers and a double from Hagan Atchison concluded the night for Macon starting pitcher Preston Burns who allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings pitched. The Hornets had built momentum to rally with two runners in scoring position but relief pitcher Kace Holman retired the side before Chillicothe could cut into the deficit.
In the final inning, Rinehart stepped onto the mound for Chillicothe but Macon added another to the total before the Hornets had one final chance in the game. Marshall singled and advance to 2nd but the Hornets could not find enough consistent offense. The Macon Tigers won by a final score of 6-1, to advance to the district semifinal game against top seeded Boonville. The other semifinal will be contested between Kirksville and the host, Moberly. The Chillicothe Hornets baseball team finishes the season with a 13-11 record. The 13 wins are the most since the 2017 season. Congratulations to Coach Troy Figg and his team on a great year.
