East Prairie & Portageville advance to C3D1 baseball title game

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
East Prairie pitcher Peyton Hodges delivers a pitch to a Malden hitter Saturday.

MALDEN - The championship is set at the Class 3, District 1 baseball tournament in Malden after East Prairie and Portageville won their respective semifinals in run-rule fashion Saturday afternoon.

Right-hander Peyton Hodges threw a five-inning no-hitter to help No. 3 seeded East Prairie knock off No. 2 seeded Malden 10-0 in the second semifinal Saturday.

“We wanted to get ahead in the count and pound the zone,” East Prairie coach Gary Scott said. “Peyton was able mix things up and threw the ball well today.”

East Prairie scored two runs in the top of the first inning and eight more in the top of the third-inning for its 10-run total. Leadoff hitter Hayden Ellis finished 3 for 3 with one RBI, No. 3 hitter Garrison Scott went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI triples, cleanup hitter Cooper Towe came in 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles, No. 7 hitter Rafe Byasses was 2 for 3 with an RBI single, and No. 8 hitter Bryson Marshall had a 2 RBI triple for East Prairie.

“We knew if we were swinging the bats well come district time we are going to have a shot and we swung it well today,” Scott said.

Hodges struck out five Malden hitters and walked three behind a defense that did not commit an error.

“All-around we played a great game,” Scott said. “We had a good game plan coming in and we executed it perfectly. The defense played clean and Peyton did an outstanding job on the mound.”

No. 1 seeded Portageville shut out No. 5 seeded Twin Rivers 10-0 in six innings in the first semifinal Saturday. Portageville led 1-0 after one inning, 6-0 after three innings, 8-0 after four innings, and 9-0 after five innings before tallying its final run in the sixth frame.

Five Portageville hitters drove home runs against Twin Rivers. Mason Adams delivered a sacrifice fly, C.J Kelley finished 2 for 3 with a double and one RBI, Trey Benthal went 2 for 3 with a 3 RBI double, Gabe Hughes came in 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Cameron Hollingshead was 2 for 3 with one RBI.

“Overall we played pretty good baseball,” Portageville coach Tyler Trover said. “It took us a little while to get going but our approaches at the plate improved as the game progressed. This time of the year it’s win or go home so we are happy to win and continue.”

Kelley threw all six innings for Portageville. He allowed 10 hits, struck out six, and walked one.

“He had a great start today,” Trover said.

Portageville (23-8) will take on East Prairie (10-11) in the district final Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Malden.

“They are a solid team,” Trover said. “We are just happy to have the opportunity to play for a district title. We are going to do the best we can to execute what we’ve won throughout the season and hopefully win this thing.”

It will be the first time the squads have met this season.

“It’s going to be tough,” Scott said. “We haven’t played them this year but they are a really solid team that is fast and likes to put pressure on your defense. We are going to have to play clean baseball and continue to hit.”

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
The Portageville baseball squad looks on Saturday at the Class 3, District 1 baseball tournament at Malden.