Jack Nobe's two-hit shutout leads St. Francis Borgia past Webb City in Missouri Class 5 semifinals
OZARK, Mo. – The St. Francis Borgia baseball team has leaned on Jack Nobe throughout its playoff run and the hard-throwing junior right-hander has been up to the challenge.
Nobe came up big again for the Knights on Friday afternoon.
The Xavier University recruit tossed a two-hit complete-game shutout in a 4-0 victory over Webb City in the Missouri Class 5 semifinals at Sky Bacon Stadium.
“Nothing’s come easy for us,” Borgia coach Rob Struckhoff said of his team’s playoff run, “but with Nobe on the mound, he’s really been outstanding. The way it sets up we got to use him a lot. Everybody had that opportunity, but he’s taken advantage of it and really pitched well.”
Nobe (7-1) followed up a two-hit complete-game shutout against Glendale in the quarterfinals with another two-hit complete-game shutout against the Cardinals in the semifinals.
“All my teammates had my back,” he said. “Felt good everyone watching me on the big stage. So there’s just really nothing better.”
The 6-foot-2 righty only allowed three baserunners on Friday and two of those came in the seventh inning on a fielding error and a single to deep shortstop. He did not walk any batters and struck out five.
“I knew they were good hitters,” Nobe said. “I knew the less I walked them, the better we’d do. So I just put the ball over the plate, let my stuff do the work and let my defense do the work as well.”
Nobe won his sixth straight start dating back to May 4. Over that stretch he’s allowed just six runs on 20 hits, struck out 52 batters and walked just six.
“He’s been good all year,” Struckhoff said. “He’s gotten better. I really don’t think he had his best stuff today. His velocity was down. The last game against Glendale he was sitting 91-92 and hitting 94 and I don’t think he was there today. He was probably upper 80s today for most of the day. I don’t know what they had him on guns over there, but I think he was a little down on velocity. But he still hits his spots and his slider was working and we played pretty good defense behind him.”
Borgia (25-5) won the Class 4 championship in 2019, which marked the Knights’ first appearance in the final four since 1976. Now they are back, after moving up to Class 5, with another opportunity to play for a title.
The Knights will play Festus (26-8) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the title game.
“We’re a small school,” Nobe said. “These are all bigger schools than us. So just to be up here competing with the big boys is something we’ll never forget and it’s great for the school to put the school’s name out there and just let everyone know who we are.”
Senior third baseman Tanner McPherson paced the Borgia offense with three of the Knights’ six hits. His two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth helped give the Knights some breathing room.
Nobe had a hit, drove in a run, walked twice, stole a base and scored a run. Junior first baseman Reagan Kandlbinder had an RBI single. Senior left fielder Kabren Koelling had the only other hit for Borgia.
• MSHSAA PLAYOFF BRACKETS | BASEBALL RANKINGS
MISSOURI BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ian Brown's shutout lifts Festus past Fort Zumwalt South in Class 5 semifinals
Kellar Davis pitches Licking past South Callaway in Missouri Class 3 title game
John Burroughs edges Fulton in Class 4 semifinals
Nine-run inning fuels South Callaway in Class 3 semifinal win over Portageville
Ash Grove caps off undefeated season with win over Salisbury in Missouri Class 2 championship game
St. Elizabeth tops South Nodaway to win second straight Class 1 baseball championship
Salisbury beats Chaffee in Class 2 semifinals for 24th straight win
Photo gallery: South Nodaway downs Community in Class 1 semifinal
Caleb Oligschlaeger's shutout helps reigning Class 1 champion St. Elizabeth top Cooter in semifinals
