The fifth appearance in six years proved to the the right time for the Licking Wildcats to win their first state baseball championship. Licking topped Neelyville 6-4 in the semi-finals and outlasted Salisbury 8-5 to claim the tile. The games wer played at Hi Simmions field in Columbia, MO.
Brad Green took the mound in the opener and staked the Cats to a 6-3 lead before a rain storm caused a 66 minute delay. When play resumed, Green was relieved by Gary Case and later Phillip Gambill to retire the last three Neelyville batters while allowing only one run. Gambill pitched out of a bases loaded nobody out jam to protect the two run lead in the 7th inning.
In the championship contect, the Wildcats scored early and often. Two runs in the first and three in the third, powered by a two run home run by Green, gave Licking a lead that they would never relinquish. Gambill pitcher his team into the last inning with an 8-5 lead. When the first two hitters reached base, Brad Green came on in relief. Green returned the favor that Gambill had bestowed upon him the night before, as he set down the opposition in order to give Licking it's long awaited first state baseball championship.
*Courtesy of the Licking Booster Club Tabloid *
Team Members: Glen Adams, Stan Smith, Pat Butherus, Gary Case, Brad Nelson, Shane Roberts, Robbie Buckner, Scott Dehard, Eric Weatherwax, Junior Armstrong, Jim Swindell, Phillip Gambill, Doug Ward, Brad Green, Ron Lebel, Mark Taylor, Rhett Payne.
Coaches: Head Coach Byron Hagler, Assistant Coach Ed Mashburn.
Managers: Gary Dixon and Terry Maples.
The Licking Wildcats won their second consecutive state baseball title by defeating previously unbeaten Neelyville by a score of 3-1. In the semifinal the Cats had blasted Bismark by a score of 11-1. The games were played at the University of Missouri field in Columbia.
Gary Case was the winning pitcher against Bismark. The Cats took the lead in the second inning with a single run, followed by runs in the third and fourth innings, before blowing the game open with 4 runs in the fifth inning. Phillip Gambill hit for the cycle while driving in 4 runs.
The championship game was a pitching and defensive gem. Phillip Gambill tossed a four hitter. He struck out 5 and had a no hitter through the fourth inning. The Wildcats grabbed a quick one run lead in the opening stanza with the help of two hits and a sacrafice bunt. Mark Taylor's two run double in the secocnd drove home two more runs and proved to be the margin of victory. Licking would only have one more hit the rest of the game; a fourht inning single by Glen Adams.
Neelyville scored a run in the final inning to ruin Gambill's shutout. The win was the Cats 23rd of the spring season.
*Courtesy of the Licking Booster Club Tabloid *
Team Members: Stan Adams, Matt Molony, Glen Adams, Terry Maples, Phillip Gambill, Robbie Buckner, Tony McNew, Brad Cantrell, Jon Wilson, Gary Case, Brad Nelson, Jim Swindell, Jason Buckner, Doug Ward, Ron Lebel, Rhett Payne, Mark Taylor, Shane Roberts.
Coaches: Head Coach Byron Hagler, Assistant Coach Ed Mashburn.
Bat Boy: Lance Hagler
Manager: Vanessa Green