RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - It wasn't supposed to end like this, not for the battle-tested Russellville Indians, a team that returned everyone from last year's Final Four appearance.
In a rematch of last year's Class 2 third-place game, this time it was the Skyline Tigers who used a sixth-inning rally to get past Russellville 6-5 in Monday's sectional game.
Skyline scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 5-2 deficit into a one-run lead.
"There's not anything I can say to these kids or to our families that's going to make this any easier," Russellville coach Lucas Branson said.
Russellville, ranked No. 6 in Class 2, finishes the season with a 19-10 record. The Indians returned all nine starters from last year's game against Skyline - a 6-4 win at O'Fallon - including this year's class of six seniors.
"They've been such a huge part of my life for several years," Branson said of the seniors. "We've been through a lot of good things together, we've been through a lot of bad things together.
"There's a part of us where we're upset and sad and disappointed it's over, but on the other side of things, we've got to be able to accept that there's happiness that got to happen and we all got to be a part of it."
The Indians were six outs from advancing to the quarterfinals for a third consecutive season. But Skyline, ranked No. 10 in Class 2 and seeking its second straight quarterfinal appearance, didn't go down without a fight.
Sam Fillipi drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth, and after a groundout advanced him into scoring position, Antonio Irizarry reached on an error to bring the tying run to the plate.
Branson then made a pitching change, bringing in Matt Miller to relieve Riley Marcum. Miller walked his first batter to load the bases, but he got leadoff hitting Ty Pinon to strike out for the second out.
Needing one more out to get Russellville out of the jam, Miller threw a 2-2 curveball to Trevor Russell, who swung and missed. There was just one problem. The ball hit the dirt and didn't land in the glove of catcher Trenton Morrow.
Morrow raced to the backstop to retrieve the dropped third strike, but his throw to first went over the reach of first baseman Austin Roe and down the right-field line. All three runners came around to score for Skyline, tying the game at 5.
"That's how the game goes," Branson said. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and sometimes it doesn't."
A hit-batter and two more walks forced in Russell to score the go-ahead run for Skyline, which sent 10 batters to the plate and did not record a hit in the inning.
Dawson Koch reached on a one-out error in the top of the seventh for Russellville, but Skyline was able to secure the win with a groundout and a flyout to end the game.
The Indians were held without a hit until the fifth inning, but they plated a run in the third with three straight walks and a fielder's choice that allowed Nick Thompson to score, tying the game at 1.
In the fifth, Roe's single into right field was the first hit of the game for Russellville, scoring Thompson to tie the game again at 2.
"It's always good to get the momentum on your side," Branson said. "Any time you can get baserunners and put pressure on the other team, it gives you a good chance."
Two batters later, Koch hit a triple just fair by a foot inside the right-field foul line an into the corner, scoring Mason Stewart and Roe to give the Indians their first lead of the game at 4-2.
"That was a big hit in a big moment of the game," Branson said.
Koch scored later in the inning on an error to extend Russellville's lead to three runs.
The Indians finished the game with three hits. Thompson - who reached base in all four plate appearances and had two stolen bases - hit a one-out single in the sixth.
Thompson pitched the first three innings for Russellville, allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Koch followed with two scoreless innings, striking out three.
Marcum, Miller and Morrow combined to pitch the sixth. Morrow struck out the only batter he faced, stranding the bases loaded.
"We were getting guys warmed up in the bullpen, and it was about seeing who was throwing strikes and making sure we had a good defense behind them," Branson said. "We've been a good defensive team all year long, but it didn't work out."
Skyline (20-7) advances to the quarterfinals and will host either Adrian (15-5) or Lone Jack (17-5) on Wednesday.
Russellville won three straight district titles for the first time in program history.
"They've done something that's never been done here before, so they've got a huge amount of things they can look back on as unbelievable moments," Branson said.