Willard Tigers advance to Class 5 final four in baseball, Elise Murray and Zachary Gates both finish fourth at state track

The Class 5, second ranked Willard High School baseball team has reached the Class 5 final four again after their 13-4 win over Class 5, 10th ranked Marshfield on Saturday, May 30 in Willard, sweeping the best two out of three game series.

The Tigers scored first after Jackson Redd got an RBI double, but the Blue Jays were able to match Willard in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1. A sacrifice bunt by Kyler Adam gave Willard a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. Marshfield answered with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead in the game. The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by a Levi Hilton double that scored two runs. A six-run sixth inning put the game out of reach for the Blue Jays.

Willard won the first game of the series 6-0 over Marshfield on Friday, May 29.

The Tigers are 32-8 on the season and will play in the semifinals against Class 5, fifth ranked Platte County on Friday in Ozark. Class 5, fourth ranked St. Dominic will play against Chaminade College Prep in the other semifinal game. The championship game and third-place games will both be played on Saturday.

Track

The 2026 track season has come to end after the Class 5 state championships were held on Saturday. For the girls, Elise Murray finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11,90 and finished seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.89. Taylor Roweton finished 10th in the high jump clearing a height of 1.55 meters.

On the boys side, Zachary Gates finished 4th in the shot put with a throw of 17.36 meters and Logan Ndiba finished 10th in the long jump with a jump of 6.55 meters.