"It's both," Bax said. "I don't think you can pinpoint it to one thing. Our guys have the natural ability .... in our area, all the kids know how to play baseball to a certain extent. Plus, our kids had no real varsity experience coming into this year, so a lot of it had to do with getting the reps and the innings.

"When you faced the schedule we did, especially early, that made it really tough. But the schedule is a huge part of what made us a lot tougher.

"That adversity has helped out, we developed a little grit."

Getting an early lead in any game is important. Getting an early lead in the Final Four is massively so.

The Comets (15-14) grabbed it early --- 1-0 after one inning, 2-0 after two, 4-0 after three ---- and never looked back.

"Striking first and getting out in front in games like this" Bax said, "that's big."

Senior Gage Bax, who's a cousin "way down the line" from the head coach, drove in the game's first run with an infield single in the top of the first.

Gage also had a sacrifice fly in the third and a two-run single in the sixth, when the Comets supplied the game-ending knockout blow with eight runs to win by the run-rule.

"Gage is a leader, and he's been a leader since the beginning of the year ... I can't speak highly enough of him," said Bax, who served as the pitching coach for the Helias Crusaders in recent years.

"Gage and I have had a lot of conversations about this day right here."

The top four batters in the Fatima lineup --- Bax, Jaden Hoskins, Austin Wegman and Josef Keilholz --- did the bulk of the damage by combining for seven hits, seven runs scored and six RBI.

It gave junior righthander Austin Troesser more breathing room than you'll find in Montana. Troesser (5-3) went the distance to get the win, allowing one earned run on five hits, he struck out six and walked three.

"The last month and a half or so," Bax said, "Austin's really been dialed in. (Monday), he kind of picked up where he left off in the sectional game (a complete-game five-hitter, 11 strikeouts, no walks in the 2-1 win over Houston.)

"He's throwing a lot of strikes, being aggressive and going after hitters."

Next up comes the other leg of Fatima's potent 1-2 pitching punch, the senior Keilholz, who will get the start against the Falcons.

"He's been our rock all season," Bax said of Keilholz, who will play baseball at Northwest Missouri State next season. "We wouldn't want anybody else on the mound, I can tell you that."

And you don't have to tell Keilholz he'll need his best stuff to beat Blair Oaks, which eased past Fatima 7-2 on April 18. These Falcons know how to win, it doesn't matter the sport.

The Falcons (22-11), who played a brutal schedule similar to Fatima's, had to come from behind against the Wildcats (17-9), who took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff home run Colin Parrish in the top of the first.

Blair Oaks didn't trail for long. In the bottom of the first, Nolan Hair had a leadoff single and would later score on an infield single by Kamron Morrriss.

Then in the second, it was more Morriss, as his two-run ground-rule double gave the Falcons the lead for good at 3-1 lead.

This was not Montana-breathing room like Troesser had, but it was enough for David Dell. He went 6.1 innings to get the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, he fanned seven and struck out three.

Cade Stockman came on to get the final two outs to earn the save.

Reid Dudenhoeffer joined Morriss and Hair with two hits apiece for the Falcons, who are seeking the program's third state championship and first since 2007. The Comets are going for No. 4 and their second in four years.

Central Missouri should be proud. And while the Comets and Falcons are bitter rivals, it's a friendly rivalry.

"We want to beat the tar out of each other," Bax said, "but we really like each other, too."

State

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Key DP helps Hornets

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Three Central Missouri
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