A frustrating injury-riddled season for Steelville High School’s baseball team concluded on May 14 when the Cardinals fell to Dixon in the quarterfinals of the Class 3 District 8 Tournament at Belle City Park.

The Cardinals lost to Owensville on May 11 in its regular-season finale and finished the year with a 4-15 record. Steelville’s season peaked when they picked up a pair of victories on April 10 and 11 over Valley and Kingston to win the Bismarck Tournament.

Steelville played the entire season without standouts from their fall team, senior Nate Gambill and sophomore Caden Collinson. Gambill was also a reigning All-Conference selection from last spring. The Cardinals also lost senior starting outfielder Hunter Starbeck, who turned his focus to track and field, where he broke the Steelville school record in the 400 meter dash.

That left the red and white with just two seniors, Trentin Garrison and Jackson Woods along with a young roster primarily made up of freshmen. Steelville head coach Ryan Weber spoke about what his pair of seniors brought to the young squad after the loss to Dixon.

“Just having them (Garrison and Woods) around, they bring a unique energy,” Weber said. “They’re fun guys to have around. They can have fun with the best of them, but also get the guys going for sure.”

While the young team experienced some growing pains, Steelville’s core group of freshmen gained extended, meaningful playing time at the varsity level, which should translate to future wins.

Despite the win-loss record, Weber said that he views the season as a success due to the invaluable experience his young team gained.

“I think it was a success overall,” he said. “Obviously, not in the wins and loss column, but we grew as a team. I don’t think we played a single team that started as many freshmen over the course of the year as we did. We had six or seven young guys getting consistent playing time. They’re still learning some stuff. They’re mixing with their old guys. And obviously experience helps, and we’ll be there one day for sure.”

One of those freshmen that excelled right away was Ripken Halbert, who was Steelville’s lone representative named an All-Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) selection by the coaches in the conference. Halbert hit leadoff, and led Steelville with a .417 batting average, 25 base hits, five doubles, 18 runs scored and 19 stolen bases in his debut season. In the field he had significant stints at shortstop, catcher and as a pitcher, giving his team flexibility in the field moving forward.

Garrison had the Cardinal’s second highest batting average, capping his career hitting .320 with 16 hits, 10 runs scored and 14 stolen bases.

Woods was Steelville’s top pitcher, striking out 45 batters in 36 innings pitched. His season was highlighted by a 14 strikeout no-hit performance on April 10 against Valley in the Bismarck Tournament. At the plate, Woods hit Steelville’s only home run and tied junior Garrett Richter with a team-high nine runs batted in.

Richter and sophomore Colin Orick were the Cardinals’ second and third options behind Woods, and are expected to take larger roles on the mound next season. Richter whiffed 30 hitters in 26 innings and picked up one win on the mound. Orick struck out 26 batters in 17 2/3 innings, often baffling hitters by throwing with a three-quarters arm angle.

When reflecting on his team’s outlook going forward, Weber said, “I have a lot of confidence that we won’t be in this spot in the years to come.”

Cardinals fall to Owensville in regular-season finale

Steelville traveled to Owensville to take on the Dutchmen in its last game of the regular season. The Cardinals scored one run in the top of the first on a single from Garrett Richter that scored Ripken Halbert.

However Owensville would respond with eight runs in the bottom of the first inning off of Richter and maintained control of the game throughout the rest of the contest. The Dutchmen added one in the third before plating three in the fifth inning, ending the game early due to the run rule with a 12-2 victory over the Cardinals.

Steelville scored their other run in the second on a single from Halbert that scored Cameron Wallis. Halbert led the Cardinals with two hits, a run scored, a stolen base and a run batted in. Chace Grayson, Richter, Wallis and Colin Orick all added singles as the Cardinals finished with six hits on the day.

Orick pitched 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, scattering four hits and three earned runs while striking out two.

Owensville senior catcher Christopher Allen led the Dutchmen with three hits, four runs batted in, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Missed opportunities doom Steelville in district loss to Dixon

Steelville loaded the bases in the first and third innings, but couldn’t get the big hit to score any against Dixon starting pitcher John Creamer.

Dixon didn’t overwhelm Steelville’s starter, Woods or its reliever Richter, but instead meticulously scored two in the first inning, one in the second, one in the fourth and two in the sixth to defeat the Cardinals 6-0 in a game that felt way closer than the final score shows.

The Cardinals were plagued by issues in the field, as five Steelville errors led to four Dixon runs. None of the three runs that Woods gave up in 3 1/3 innings were earned. Woods finished his career on the mound with four strikeouts on 76 pitches.

Richter came out of the bullpen to strike out four Dixon batters in 2 2/3 innings, while scattering four hits and two earned runs. 

At the plate, Steelville was held to four base hits — all singles — coming off the bats of Halbert, Grayson, Woods and Cameron Wallis. The Cardinals also had two runners get thrown out while trying to steal second base.

Weber spoke about his team’s struggles to score with runners on base following the game.

“Tonight, we left several, at least eight guys on base. That’s kind of our story,” he said. “There were a couple innings where we had the opportunities, just couldn’t quite make it happen. We either hit right at somebody or just couldn’t square it up. Just baseball stuff for sure.”