Willard Tigers baseball team clinches 2021 Class 5 state championship

What many predicated would happen for the Willard High School baseball team has happened, albeit a year later, as the Tigers held off Grain Valley, 9-8, to win the Class 5 state championship at Ozark on Saturday, June 5.
Willard opened up the scoring, plating a run in the first inning when Kade Biellier doubled in Cooper Hampton to take a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers added two more runs in the second inning after Kyden McMain tripled in Evan Gaunt and then scored on a balk to take a 3-0 lead in the game. In the third inning Biellier reached on a fielding error to drive in Grant Merryman and put Willard up 4-0.
Willard added three more runs in the third inning as Hayden Rakestraw and Blake Hultgren both drove in runs and Willard was in control leading 7-2 after four innings.
Grain Valley battled back though and scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Tigers lead to 7-6 and take the lead an inning later to go up 8-7.
Hampton and Biellier opened up the bottom of the seventh inning with singles. With one out, Elliott Friend singled in Hampton to tie the game at 8-8. After Gaunt was intentionally walked to load the bases and with two outs, McMain singled through the right side and Willard finally had their long-sought-after state championship.
“Winning the state title was an awesome experience for our current players and the Willard baseball community,” said head coach Scott McGee. “So many people have invested time and effort chipping away at the chance, and our 2021 team broke through and got it done.
We are very proud of them. This was a very enjoyable season, our seniors did a great job of leading all year, and our young guys really got better as the season progressed, and many of them played huge roles in the postseason.”
Hultgren ended the game 1-3 with an RBI; Merryman was 1-3 with an RBI, Biellier finished 2-4 with a run scored and two RBI’s, Hampton was 3-4 with two runs scored, McMain went 2-2 with two runs scored and two RBI’s and Rakestraw finished it up 1-1with an RBI.
Willard reached the championship game by knocking off Fort Zumwalt South, 4-3, in eight innings on Friday, June 4, at Ozark.
The Tigers scored two runs in the second inning and a run in each of the sixth and eighth innings.
Dalen Stewart got the win, going eight innings, allowing three runs, all earned on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Landon Moore, Gaunt and Rakestraw all had RBI’s in the game and Hampton and Biellier each scored a run.
Willard finished the outstanding 2021 season with a 27-10 record.