Meaning, third baseman Kade Franks snagged a ground ball and threw home for the force out. Catcher Gaven Strobel pivoted and threw to first hoping for the double play, but the throw was late. Meanwhile, Andrew Schofield had rounded third too far, was caught in a rundown, and tagged out to complete the inning-ending double play.

So it went.

"This is the weirdest game I've ever been a part of," said Jays senior shorstop Grant Wood, who had two singles to improve on his own school record for career hits,. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day and today, we were just a little bit better than they were."

Schofield's ringing RBI-double off the left field wall gave the Jaguars a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and that's where it stayed for about the next two hours.

Weirich made a whopping 42 pitches in the first two innings and gave up four hits --- and all of them were hit on the nose. The senior lefthander, who's the school's career leader for wins, gave himself a grade of 'D' in the early innings.

"Those first two innings," he said," it was bad. But after that, I think I started focusing better and probably got it up to a B."

Maybe. But for guts, this was a straight-A effort. He ended up throwing 108 pitches and giving up eights and three walks, he hit two batters, and struck out six.

Not typical, but it was ...

"Gritty," Ash said. "Like I've always said, I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the state in this situation. He wasn't sharp, at times, especially early. It was just a really gutty performance.

"With him out there for the last time in his high school career, he deserved to be a state champion after this game."

The top-ranked Jays (31-2) --- winners of 21 straight and ranked No. 13 in the nation by MaxPreps --- had good scoring chances in both the fifth and sixth innings, but came up empty.

After the first two reached in the fifth, Tyler Bise --- the No. 9 hitter who finished the Final Four with a team-high five hits --- was asked to bunt.

The Jays are very, very good in most aspects of the game of baseball. Bunting is not one of them.

"We're not the best bunting team," Ash said.

Bise's bunt popped in the air, pitcher Patrick Conner made a diving catch, and he then threw to second to double-off Brandon Williams.

"That almost took the life out of us," Wood said. "But deep down, I still knew we'd win the game. Even when it got done to the final out."

It did.

BUT FIRST CAME THE SIXTH, when the Jays loaded the bases with one out. But one runner was cut down at the plate on Gunnar See's grounder to third, before Williams grounded out to end the inning.

Both plays, however, were bang-bang calls that were vehemently contested by the Jefferson City coaches, who thought neither the catcher nor first baseman had their foot on the plate/base.

The Jays still trailed 1-0, three outs to go. Tick, tick, tick ...

"There were some nerves," Ash said. "There was some tension going on in the dugout, which is something I haven't really seen from our guys this year."

The Jaguars had a golden chance to increase their lead in the seventh when they put runners on first and third with one out. But an inning-ending double play turned by Wood left it 1-0.

"It felt like it was about a 7-6 game, because it seemed like there were runners on base every inning for both teams," Ash said. "But nobody could come up with that big hit.

"There were some base-running mistakes here and there and both teams got out of some big jams. With all the circumstances this game had ... wow. Unbelievable."

Here came the bottom of the seventh. Hayden Hirschvogel walked and was sacrificed to second --- this one worked --- by Bise. Weirich grounded out and pinch-runner Cole Ahrens moved to third, but was nearly thrown out to end the game.

On this senior-dominated team, up came junior Payton Bodenstab.

This was his chance to live out every kid's dream, one that's been played out hundreds and hundreds of times in the backyard.

"These are the moments you love in baseball, when the crowd's behind you, the dugout, everybody's cheering for you," Bodenstab said. "I looked at coach Ash and smiled, I was relaxed. I knew I had to do what I do best, and that's make contact and get a base hit."

Bottom of the seventh inning, two out, down by one, state championship on the line, here's the wind-up and the pitch --- line drive up the middle, base hit! We're tied! The crowd goes wild!

Every kid's dream.

"As soon as I hit it," Bodenstad said, "I knew. The crowd went crazy, it gave me chills. With the team we have, I knew it was over."

Well, not quite.

On to the eighth we went. Facing Weirich, who was now clearly out of gas on the hot, humid day, the Jaguars loaded the bases on an infield single, a walk and a hit-batter. Out went Weirich, in came Hirschvogel.

Hirschvogel didn't look all that sharp warming up. But on his first pitch, Cole Christman grounded back to Hirschvogel, who threw home to Strobel, who threw to first to complete the double play.

As easy as 1-2-3.

"I give all the credit to him (Hirschvogel) for winning this game," Weirich said. "It was the biggest situation we've had all year and to do what he did, I can't say enough about him."

The inning ended when Jacob Verschoore was inexplicably picked off third, and we went to the bottom of the eighth.

The Jays have have had some truly inspiring rallies this season, rallies when they sprayed bullets all over the yard. This wasn't one of them. Still, they loaded the bases with one out on two walks and --- this time, no bunt --- a single by Bise.

Up came Weirich, who was plunked on the elbow on a 1-0 pitch by Dylan Hansen --- which instantly became he most famous hit batter in school history.

"I would have let it hit me anywhere," Weirich said. "I would have done anything for a state title."

When he was hit, time seemed to momentarily stand still.

"I didn't know what to think, my mind went blank," Weirich said. "I just knew I had to touch first base and we were state champions. It was a crazy game, up and down, a lot twists and turns."

Along with one sore elbow and one coveted trophy.

"I think this game says a lot about the character of our team," Ash said. "We have a lot of high-character guys ... not just our seniors, but the whole team. It was a total-team effort today. They pulled themselves together and someway, somehow, they found a way to get it done."

And what a way to get No. 300.

"This one," Ash said with a smile, "will go down as my most memorable win, that's for sure."

The Jays set a state record for wins last year with 28 and advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 24 years. They finished second, which did not sit well with the deep, talented junior class.

One year later --- after shattering their own school record for wins, and winning the program's second state championship and first in 28 years --- that disappointment has turned to pure joy.

"It's even greater than I could have imagined," said Wood, who was named the Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year on Tuesday. "It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life."

What a season, what a ride, what a finish.

Thanks for the memories.

The Jefferson City Jays enjoy a pile of celebration after winning the Class 5 state championship Saturday in O'Fallon, before showing off their first-place trophy.

Loeffler's Link

It was strange, but it was a win ---

Jays capture coveted Class 5 title

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