O'FALLON, Mo. - The St. Elizabeth Hornets had all the answers this baseball postseason.
If they didn't take the lead early in playoff games, the Hornets would respond almost immediately if the opposition grabbed the advantage.
But that run ended Thursday afternoon, as St. Elizabeth fell 4-1 to the Oran Eagles in the Class 1 state championship game at CarShield Field.
"They jumped out on us early," St. Elizabeth coach Caleb Heckemeyer said. "We held them to one run in that first inning, I knew we had to score to win anyway.
"But we just couldn't get our bats going."
The Hornets had a hit in each of the first four innings Thursday. But two of them were with two outs and the Hornets could only advance as far as second base on two occasions.
"We just couldn't string anything together," Heckemeyer said.
Oran's first four batters singled in the third inning, leading to two runs to stretch its advantage to 3-0. The Eagles appeared poised to add to that lead in the top of the fifth, putting runners at second and third with two outs before a popout ended the threat.
The Hornets then got their run in the bottom of the inning. Clayton Holtmeyer hit a one-out single to right and advanced to second on a groundout. The freshman second baseman scooted to third on a wild pitch before Nolan Heckemeyer lined a 2-2 pitch to left for an RBI single to make it 3-1.
But Oran was able to get that run back in the top of the sixth on an error, a single and a balk.
After the Hornets went down in order in sixth - the only time that happened in the game - the Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh.
Nolan Heckemeyer came on in the relief for St. Elizabeth, getting a 6-2-3 double play and a strikeout to end the threat.
Dylan Wobbe led off the bottom of the seventh for the Hornets with a double to right-center, the lone extra-base hit for either team in the game. But a pair of groundouts to third and a flyout ended the game.
Drew Reischman went the distance on the mound to get the win for Oran (18-9). The senior allowed one run on seven hits and no walks with five strikeouts on just 86 pitches.
"He kept us off-balance, he pitched really well," Caleb Heckemeyer said.
Dakota Kemna started and took the loss for the Hornets, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in three innings. Mason Kemna worked three-plus innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on three hits and three walks while striking out two before Nolan Heckemeyer came on to record the final three outs on eight pitches.
Aaron Blomberg and Mason Kemna had two hits each for the Hornets, who were understandably disappointed after the loss.
"I think after today, they'll now how much it means to take second place," said Caleb Heckemeyer, who played on St. Elizabeth's last Final Four team in 2011 and wrapped up his first year as head coach. "There are only four teams up here playing for a shot at a state title and they were one of the two that did.
"This was a fun season, I am so proud of these boys." Heckemeyer said.
Datoka Kemna and Mason Kemna are the only two seniors for the Hornets this season.
"We're going to have our most of our main core back, we're just going to need some other guys to step up and fill some shoes," Heckemeyer said. "They know what it takes to get here, I think we can make another run next year."
St. Elizabeth responded from a 1-3 start to the season to end with a record of 16-6.
In the Class 1 third-place game earlier Thursday, Green City used a 10-run fourth inning to defeat Walnut Grove 14-2 in five innings.