Just another win

Oran routs Naylor to earn third-straight final four trip

sports@standard-democrat.com

ORAN -- There was no jumping, no dog pile on the mound or even smiling. Nowadays, the Oran Eagles are going by the old adage, "Act like you've been here before."

Because they have. Three times in a row now.

Wednesday, Oran defeated Naylor 9-1 during the Class 1 quarterfinal at Oran High School to earn their third-straight final four berth.

"It's always exciting, but we're getting kind of used to it," Oran senior Alex Heuring said. "We've been there three times in a row now. Now, I think we're more focused and ready to win it all. We're not all blown away by the experience.

"This year, after we won, there's no big celebration. We're just focused and ready to play next."

Their focus may stem from seniors Heuring and Kody Moore, who go to the Class 1 state tournament for the last time after three previous trips. It may also be because this version of the Oran Eagles have another chance to give longtime head coach Mitch Wood a state championship.

Something Wood, who will retire from coaching following this season, has never attained during his 21-year coaching career at Oran.

"All that stuff is definitely in the back of your mind and makes you play that much harder and gives you that much more inspiration," Moore said. "We're definitely excited and pumped about the win, but everybody knows we have one goal on our mind from the beginning of the year."

Oran (20-5) will play Sturgeon Monday at 3 p.m. during the semifinals at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon.

"It feels just as good as it did the first time," Moore said about another semifinal appearance. "We weren't happy with third the first two years. But we definitely won't be happy with third or second this year. We're still striving for that one goal -- a state title."

What seems to be the norm, Moore led the Eagles on both the mound and at the plate. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and three walks while striking out five. The one run Naylor scored was unearned. After four innings, Moore had only given up two hits.

"He was feeling it today," Heuring said, who had the best look at Moore from behind the plate as Oran's catcher. "His fastball had good life, curveball was working and had a rhythm going."

Moore also raked at the plate going 3 for 4 with two doubles and five RBIs.

"He's hit the ball all year long so that's not a surprise to us," Wood said. "He did a good job."

It didn't take long for Oran to reassure fans they will be heading to another state tournament.

After just two pitches, Oran went ahead 1-0. Seth Ressel started the game with a double and Moore drove him in with a single in the first inning.

"That's always an icebreaker," Moore said about Oran's fast start. "Two pitches and we're up 1-0, it can't get any better than that."

Although Naylor tied the game in the bottom half of the inning following a botched double play try by Oran's defense, Oran, namely Moore, continued to push runners across.

Moore hit a two-out, two-run double in the second inning to give Oran a 3-1 lead.

Jacob Priggel added to Oran's lead in the third with a solo home run that snuck over the left field fence. They added another in the inning to lead Naylor by four.

"We came out aggressive was the big thing," Heuring said. "Everybody came out swinging. Not everybody was waiting for a pitch and it worked for us. Being aggressive and getting on top, you make (opponents) play from behind."

Moore added his fourth and fifth RBIs with his second double of the day capping a four-run fifth inning that put Oran up comfortably, 9-1.

"We had a superb pitching performance, we hit the baseball and made them make some plays," Wood said. "Some good things happened."

Although Moore was keeping Naylor at bay, he ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh.

After getting the first out with no problem, he loaded the bases which prompted Wood to call on the services of Ressel to close out the game.

It was a move that visibly displeased Moore at the time, but he also knew Ressel could get the job done.

"He's a good enough pitcher he can come in and shut the door anytime," Moore said about Ressel. "I like to compete and I like to do it, but today I just couldn't get those last two outs."

Ressel obliged by striking out both batters he faced and send Oran to the semifinals.

"This group, the way we've played all year long, they've done a good job. They've worked hard to get back to the final four," Wood said. "Honestly, at the beginning of the year, they were okay. We've had to work to get here."

Being his last year, Wood hopes to finally bring back a first place trophy. This will be his 10th final four with three second and six third places to show in his previous nine trips.

"It's your last year and you hadn't won one, so it's definitely important for us. It's a big deal," Wood said. "I think it's a big deal for all these players too."

Oran 122 040 0 -- 9 8 1

Naylor 100 000 0 -- 1 5 1

WP -- Kody Moore. LP -- Taylor Davis. Multiple hitters: (N) M. Rigdon 2-2; (O) Seth Ressel 2-4, Moore 3-4, Jacob Priggel 2-4. 2B: (O) Ressel, Moore 2, Thomas Trankler. HR: (O) Priggel.