Crystal City finishes as a dominant Class 2 team

Crystal City set a high standard for itself after a 6-5 win over defending state champion Valle halfway through the regular season.

The followup was a nip-and-tuck run through the playoffs that ended with an emphatic 10-1 win Thursday over Carrollton for the Class 2 state title in Springfield.

Crystal City scored nine runs in the first two innings, highlighted by Nicholas Portell's two-run double in the first and a two-run home run in the second.

Crystal City (21-5) looked like a state champion early in Thursday's game, maybe even sooner. Clearwater was ranked No. 1 in the state before its loss to the Hornets in the quarterfinal round; Valle was No. 2 before falling to Crystal City in the district semifinals.

But Thursday's win was the most lopsided of Crystal City's postseason. Elijah Sample had three hits, and Logan Jett, Nathan Kaminski and Daniel Rothweiler had two apiece in a dominant offense.

Pitcher Gary Doyle went the distance and struck out three.

In two wins over two days, the Hornets finished with 28 hits and 16 runs.

The championship is Crystal City's first in baseball since an unlikely run in 2000, when the Hornets swept the playoffs and finished with a 13-14 record.

Cooter joined Crystal City as the only Southeast Missouri teams in the state finals; its 4-1 win over St. Elizabeth clinched third place in Class 1. Jonathan Boone, Seth Childers, Jesse Rayburn and Zach Watkins all had two hits; Boone pitched a complete game and struck out nine with a walk.

The Wildcats, who finished fourth in the state a year ago, ended the season at 23-7.