Semoball

Malden baseball team outlasts West County 4-3 in eight innings to reach first final four

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Malden celebrates beating West County 4-3 in eight innings in a Class 3 quarterfinal Wednesday at West County High School.

PARK HILLS, Mo. - Malden cleanup hitter Gavin Bristow knew it was his time to shine when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game against the West County Bulldogs Wednesday evening.

“The tensions were high,” Bristow said. “I knew I had to do it [now] or we were going to have trouble coming back because we were getting to the bottom of our lineup. I knew if anyone was going to start it off it had to be me because I was leading off the inning.”

Bristow got things started by hammering a double that bounced off the right field fence a few feet inside the foul poll. West County reliever Zach Francis managed to retire the next two Malden hitters before Bristow eventually took third base. Ethan Bader was then hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a fielder’s indifference to put runners at second and third with two outs.

The next hitter, Dalton Lewis, never got to complete his at-bat. For a second straight playoff game Bristow sprinted home from third base and scored the game-winning run on a passed ball after a pitch got past the catcher.

“I was running home and was like, ‘I got to get there,’ Bristow said of the game-ending play. “I saw the catcher was still chasing after the ball and the first thing that came to my mind was we are going to state as soon as I touch home plate.”

Malden secured a 4-3 eight-inning road victory against West County in a Class 3 state quarterfinal as Bristow slid into home plate.

“We got a real good jump off of third and Bristow is a good athlete and he got in there,” Malden coach Tim Harmon said.

The play ended a wild affair that started with Malden jumping out to a 3-0 lead when it scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning and West County tying things up at 3-3 after it plated a run in the fifth frame and two more runs in the top of the sixth inning.

“We played hard all game,” Bristow said. “They were making plays and we were making plays. The tension got high and then God just blessed us in the end with a great hit and a passed ball to win the game.”

Malden sent nine hitters to the plate in the bottom of the third inning when it scored its first three runs. Tye Miller recorded a one-out single and Drew Blankinship followed by drawing a one-out walk before West County elected to walk No. 3 hitter Dee Triplett to load the bases with one-out.

Bristow then plated Malden’s first run when he drew a bases-loaded walk. Two more runs scored when the next hitter, Mason Brown, hit a ground ball the was mishandled by the West County middle infield.

The error put the Green Wave on top 3-0.

“I think it was important today to get a lead against a team like West County that is well-coached,” Harmon said. “It kind of took the bunt away from them, maybe, where they couldn’t manufacture one run at a time because they had to play for a bigger inning, so I think it was key for us to jump out on top.”

Malden loaded the bases again when the next hitter, Shay Amoss, was hit by pitch. West County starting pitcher Hayden Roney avoided additional damage when he retired Ethan Bader and Lewis with the bases loaded to end the bottom of the third inning.

“We are just fortunate,” Harmon said. “I thought we should have had a few more runs early. We didn’t capitalize on some second and third situations with less than two outs. We struck out a couple times there. I really kept thinking about the Scott City game and thinking if we didn’t pile on it was going to come back to haunt us. But fortunately we were able to hold them off.”

West County cut the deficit to 3-1 when Ty Smily drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.

The Bulldogs later tied things up at 3-3 when Francis collected a two-out 2 RBI single in the top of the fifth inning.

West County missed a chance to move ahead when a runner from first took second and a runner from third broke home following Francis’ game-tying hit. Malden catcher Bristow threw the ball toward second base as the runner broke toward second. Malden middle infielder Tye Miller reacted by sprinting in front of the second base bag and firing a strike back to Bristow who tagged the go-ahead run out before he reached home plate.

“We really didn’t want to throw through in that case,” Harmon said. “But Bristow throws through, the guy from third doesn’t break right away and Miller makes a pinpoint throw to home. That was another big play right there. If we don’t handle that they take the lead and it could be over. But again that’s baseball.”

Malden escaped one last scare when left-handed reliever Dee Triplett pitched around a bases-loaded one-out jam in the top of the seventh inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases on three walks in the frame before Triplett struck out Dakota Dowd for the second out and got Payton Nipper to fly out to end the top of the seventh inning.

“It was rough but I had to go after them,” Triplett said. “I was just trying to throw fastballs for strikes.”

Miller started the game for Malden. He allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings before being relieved by Triplett who pitched the rest of the way without allowing a run.

“He’s a gamer,” Harmon said of Miller. “He never wants to come out. He’s one of those guys that will scratch and claw and be mad if you take him out. They never hit him hard.”

Roney pitched the first 3 1/3 innings for West County. He allowed three runs.

Francis pitched the rest of the way for the Bulldogs. The only run he allowed was the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth frame.

West County finishes its season with a record of 17-5.

Malden improves to 24-5 with the victory and books its first trip to the state final four in high school baseball win the win.

An experience Triplett has also enjoyed in football during his high school career.

“This is my favorite sport so this kind of feels better than football,” Triplett said. “People kind of knew we could make a run in football. A lot of people didn’t expect us to do this in baseball.”

Malden will take on Holden (23-4) in a state semifinal May 29 at 4 p.m. at CarShield Field in O’Fallon. Holden beat Carrollton 4-1 in its state quarterfinal Wednesday.

“We are happy to be moving on and we are happy for this bunch of kids,” Harmon said. “I keep saying, ’They’ve been consistent all year.’ They find a way to win the close games. Good teams find a way to win and we’ve been pretty good this year.”

Malden 4, West County 3

WCS 000 012 00 - 3 4 2

MHS 003 000 01 - 4 5 1

WP - Dee Triplett. LP Zach Francis. 2B - Joey Steinmetz (WC), 2B - Gavin Bristow (M). Multiple hits - West County: Francis 2-4; Malden: Mason Brown 2-4.

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Malden’s No. 25 Tyler Walker holds up four fingers as the Green Wave celebrate advancing to the state final four for the first time in school history after beating West County 4-3 in eight innings in a Class 3 baseball quarterfinal Wednesday at Park Hills.
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