De Smet tops rival CBC to win Missouri Class 6 District 3 title
TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. – Second-seeded De Smet used a seven-run fourth inning and an impressive relief outing from right-hander Sam Cardwell to defeat top seed CBC 10-7 in the Class 6 District 3 championship game on Saturday at CBC.
“We didn't have anything to lose,” Cardwell said. “I feel like nobody thought we'd win, except for us. So all we really needed was for us to believe.”
Cardwell, who tossed five scoreless innings in a district quarterfinal win over Francis Howell North on Wednesday, finished off Saturday's win over the Cadets by allowing one run on four hits over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six, walked one and hit two batters among 96 pitches.
CBC loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning and Cardwell was nearing his pitch limit. The Spartans' hurler was just running on adrenaline at that point and just trying not to make a mistake against the heart of the Cadets' lineup.
The Maryville signee thwarted the comeback bid by getting a flyout to center field to secure the district title.
“There's nobody I would rather have on the mound at that point in the game,” De Smet coach Tim Canavan said. “I mean, he's just, he's fearless. I told him before the game I wanted the ball in his hand at that point.”
Senior first baseman Quinn Argetsinger paced the Spartans offense with three of their 12 hits. He scored two runs, as did sophomore right field Landon Edmonds. Junior catcher Jake Panagos drove in three runs, while junior center fielder Myles Wessels had two hits and two RBIs.
“The kids on both sides played with a lot of guts and character," Canavan said. "We took a big lead. They came right back. There was no quit in them and there was no let up in us. It was just a grueling, grueling seven innings and it hats off to both teams.”
De Smet (20-14-1) will next host Francis Howell (29-10), the No. 6 team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings, in the quarterfinals next Saturday.
CBC, ranked 24th in the SBLive Power 25, finished its season at 25-13. Senior third baseman Kaden Peer led the Cadets with a home run – his school-record 11th of the season – and three RBIs.
Junior first baseman Jake McGhee had two of CBC's seven hits and scored twice. Senior shortstop Nazzan Zanetello scored two runs.
“This was like theater, right?" CBC coach Mason Horne said. "This was like the big show, you know, district championship, MCC rivals. My hat's off to De Smet and congratulations to them, but it was, you know, just throwing punches back and forth and, heck, we threw another one there in the seventh and just came up a little short.”
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De Smet at CBC baseball
