Caleb Oligschlaeger's shutout helps reigning Class 1 baseball champion St. Elizabeth top Cooter in semifinals
OZARK, Mo. – Caleb Oligschlaeger was happy to be back in the Missouri Class 1 semifinals on Monday morning at Sky Bacon Stadium.
Pitching in the final week of the season for the third straight year, the St. Elizabeth senior righthander relied on his experience and his defense as he tossed a three-hit shutout as the reigning champion Hornets defeated Cooter 9-0 to advance.
“Being down here the past couple of years, being able to pitch in these big games, it really gave me a bunch of confidence and obviously my defense behind me,” Oligschlaeger said. “I have all the confidence in the world in those guys. We were ready.”
St. Elizabeth (22-7) will now play South Nodaway (20-2) in the Class 1 championship game at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Cooter (23-7) will play Community (18-6) in the third-place game at 10 a.m.
“We’ve been working hard all year long to get back and defend our title again,” St. Elizabeth coach Caleb Heckemeyer said. “The way we’re looking, I like our odds. It will be a good game tomorrow.”
Oligschlaeger, who improved to 5-0 with the win, was a key cog on the Hornets’ basketball team that finished second in Class 1 a few months ago. He scored 16 points in the championship game loss to South Iron.
“We want to leave one more mark on this town before we get up and get out of here for our last game,” he said.
Oligschlaeger did just that. Pitching in the semifinals for the second straight season, the righty shut out a Cooter lineup that had scored 14 runs in its quarterfinal victory over Greenwood to advance to the final four.
“Caleb was good,” Heckemeyer said. “Pitched well from the get-go. Walked a couple extra batters today. He was trying to do a little bit too much at times, but he settled in and looked really good.”
“He was being more assertive, aggressive (than his last start),” the coach said. “The way he was commanding the strike zone better with his fastballs and off-speeds. He just made the hitters keep guessing up there. Looking for a 2-0 fastball he was throwing a 2-0 off-speed pitch. He felt a little more confident with stuff. He was just really sharp.”
OIigschlaeger also got plenty of help from the Hornets’ lineup and defense.
St. Elizabeth took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out error, then put up five runs in the third inning to take control. Jace Kesel, Noah Chipman and Levi Holtmeyer all came through with RBI singles in the inning.
Oligschlaeger helped himself with an RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-0. Then St. Elizabeth pushed its lead to 9-0 in the fifth with runs scoring on a wild pitch and error.
The Hornets’ lineup has now scored 51 runs in five games since the start of the playoffs.
“They believe in themselves,”Heckemeyer said. “They see one guy get a base hit and they think to themselves that they are going to do the same. When one guy gets going, it just trickles down the line. It helps us have success when everyone is confident in themselves.”
Photos: South Nodaway downs Community in Missouri Class 1 baseball semifinal
St. Elizabeth-Cooter Missouri Class 1 baseball semifinal
