Postseason success tends to lead to plenty of postseason awards.
With four area teams competing in the state baseball Final Four, they reaped the rewards last week with the announcement of the all-state baseball teams by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.
The St. Elizabeth Hornets, the Class 1 state champion, led all area teams with six selections to the all-state team, while the Blair Oaks Falcons - the Class 3 state champion - and the Fatima Comets - the Class 3 state runner-up - each had four all-state nominees. The Helias Crusaders, who tied for third place in Class 4, came away with three all-state players.
St. Elizabeth had four players honored on the Class 1 all-state first team: senior pitcher Aaron Blomberg, junior catcher Coltin Green, freshman infielder Brock Lucas and sophomore outfielder Dylan Wobbe.
Junior pitcher Nolan Heckemeyer and sophomore outfielder Carson Kesel were named to the all-state second team for the Hornets.
Blair Oaks had three players on the Class 3 all-state first team, led by junior pitcher David Dell, senior infielder Parker Bax and senior outfielder Nolan Hair. Freshman infielder Reid Dudenhoeffer was also an honorable mention.
Senior catcher Gage Bax was honored on the Class 3 all-state first team to lead Fatima. Senior pitcher Josef Keilholz was selected on the second team, while junior pitcher Austin Troesser and senior outfielder Austin Wegman made the honorable mention team.
Helias had two all-state selections on the Class 4 first team with senior pitcher Zach Davidson and junior infielder Trevor Austin. Senior outfielder Zach Woehr was honored on the second team for the Crusaders.
Several area teams also had players recognized on the all-state teams.
South Callaway senior Peyton Leeper was a Class 3 first-team selection at pitcher, while California senior Hayden Green made the second team as an infielder. Belle junior Jat Ridenhour made the all-state honorable mention team as a catcher.
The Russellville Indians had a pair of players honored on the Class 2 all-state team. Senior Nick Thompson made the second team as a DH/utility, while junior Dawson Koch was selected to the honorable mention team as a pitcher.
Vienna senior Logan Agan made the Class 2 all-state second team as an infielder and Eugene freshman Tyler Renn was an honorable mention selection at DH/utility.
Earlier this month, the MHSBCA also released its final state rankings following the conclusion of the state baseball championships in O'Fallon.
State champions Blair Oaks (23-11) and St. Elizabeth (18-4) were ranked No. 1 in Class 3 and Class 1, respectively. Fatima (15-15) finished at No. 2 in Class 3, while Helias (23-5) took the No. 3 ranking in Class 4.
South Callaway, a state quarterfinalist, ended the season ranked No. 7 in Class 3, while Russellville (19-10) received votes in the Class 2 rankings.
The remaining three state champions - Ellington (29-1) in Class 2, Borgia (23-7) in Class 4 and De Smet (14-13) in Class 5 - all finished with No. 1 rankings.