Cassville takes No. 5 seed; Purdy earns  No. 1 seed

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

District baseball tournaments will be underway this week, with three of the five local teams’ brackets all set.

In Class 4, District 10, Cassville (7-19), took the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 East Newton at noon on Saturday in Aurora. The winner will face No. 1 Seneca at 4 p.m. on Monday. At the bottom of the bracket, No 2 Aurora and No. 3 Monett play on Monday at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal. The championship is on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

The Wildcats fell to East Newton, 7-4, on April 21, and earlier in the season at the Cassville Classic, 5-4. The Wildcats also took losses to Aurora, 13-2, and Seneca, 16-6, this season, but they do hold a win over Monett, 4-2.

In Class 2, District 11, Purdy (23-1-1) received the No. 1 seed and a bye into the semifinals. On Friday at 4:30 p.m., the Eagles will face the winner of No. 4 New Heights Christian and No. 5 Marionville. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Miller — Class 2 defending state champion — also received a bye and awaits the winner of No. 3 Jasper and No. 6 Greenfield. The championship is set for Monday at 5 p.m., with all games being played in Marionville.

The Eagles have a spotless record against district opponents so far this season, defeating New Heights, 8-3; Marionville, 14-2; Jasper, 7-1; and Greenfield, 13-3. Purdy won the Miller In Invitational last week, defeating Miller, 3-0, in the championship game. The result of a Monday matchup at home against Miller was unavailable at presstime.

In Class 3, District 11, Southwest (5-15) took the No. 5 seed and faces No. 4 Pierce City at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The winner will take on No. 1 Diamond at 2 p.m. Saturday. On the other side, No. 2 Lamar will battle No. 3 Sarcoxie. The championship is set for 5 p.m. on Monday, and Southwest is hosting the tournament in Washburn.

The Trojans fell to Pierce City 17-0 on May 2, and on Friday in the Miller Invitational, the Trojans fell to the Eagles, 10-2. Lamar defeated Southwest 16-0 this season, and Sarcoxie also topped the Trojans, 7-1.

In Class 1, District 10, Wheaton (11-11), earned the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Verona at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will battle No. 2 Galena at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Exeter (8-15) took the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Hurley at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, with the winner taking on No. 1 Billings at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The championship is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, with all games being played in Billings.

Wheaton holds wins over Verona, 11-1, Hurley twice, 17-2 and 11-5, and Galena twice, 9-0 and 3-2. The Bulldogs also lost a game to Galena, 2-0, and fell to Billings, 11-1. The result of a Monday matchup at Exeter was unavailable at presstime.

Exeter defeated Verona twice this season, 16-0 and 18-3, and Wheaton once, 2-0. The result of a Monday home game against Wheaton was unavailable at presstime. The Tigers fell to Galena twice, 4-3 and 7-3, and Billings once, 6-5, this season. A Tuesday matchup at Hurley was unavailable at presstime.