O'FALLON - When fans gathered April 17 to watch the Blair Oaks Falcons and the Fatima Comets play a regular-season game at Lions Field in Westphalia, no one at the time would have guessed they were watching a preview of the Class 3 state championship game.
But they were.
Two Central Missouri schools separated by a 15-mile drive took the biggest stage Tuesday at the Missouri state baseball championships. In the first of five championship games this week, Blair Oaks defeated Fatima 1-0 in a contest that had fans on the edge of their seats until the final out.
"Everybody focuses on the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield area," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. "In Mid-Missouri, we have about a state champion every year and multiple teams in the Final Four.
"Between us and Fatima, we talk about the tough teams we play, and most of those tough teams are right here. It prepared us to play in a game like this. Fatima's a really, really good team, and we were fortunate to win. I think this is good for both programs and baseball in this community."
Both teams preached the strength of their regular-season schedules as a big reason why they received the No. 1 seeds in their districts and then each won their first five postseason games.
Blair Oaks played seven games against Class 5 opponents and 10 games against Class 4 opponents. Fatima had six games against Class 5 opponents and seven games against Class 4 opponents.
"When it comes to the postseason, I think it's one of the things that gives us an advantage over the other schools in our district, sectional and quarterfinal," Fatima coach Brian Bax said. "When you play that many big games, you have to rely on a lot more arms and a lot of combinations of players to get a job done.
"That makes you a lot stronger by the end of the year."
Both teams played in the Capital City Invitational last month. Fatima also played in the Fulton Tournament and Blair Oaks played in the Columbia Tournament.
"Even though your record suffers and your stats suffer a little bit, there's no doubt (playing in those tournaments) makes you better," DeMilia said.
"Some teams that play a softer schedule, when they finally hit the postseason and have a bump in the road, they don't know what to do. We were prepared for it."
Both teams play in a tough baseball conferences. Blair Oaks finished 4-3 in the Tri-County Conference, while Fatima was 3-3 in the Show-Me Conference.
"This area all along the Osage River is as good as you get when it comes to baseball," Bax said.
St. Elizabeth, Fatima's only Class 1 opponent on its schedule, won the Class 1 state championship Wednesday, defeating La Plata 2-1.
"I'm proud of those guys, because that's my hometown," said Bax, who won a state championship with the Hornets in 1995. "That's where I grew up, I love all those families down there."
The similarities between Blair Oaks and Fatima don't stop there. Both teams began to hit their stride in late April and early May, leading into the postseason. Both coaches said getting consistent efforts from their defenses and their pitching staffs were crucial.
"The runs are great, but if you can pitch and play defense, you can beat anybody," DeMilia said. "That's been our big focus."
Great pitching was certainly on display in Tuesday's championship game. Pitching in their final high school games, Blair Oaks' Parker Bax and Fatima's Josef Keilholz were locked in a pitchers' duel.
Parker Bax went the full seven innings while staying under his 105 pitch-count limit, throwing just 89. He hit two batters and scattered five hits - all singles - while striking out seven.
"That's probably the best I've ever pitched in my life," Parker Bax said.
Even with the tying and winning runs on base in the seventh inning, Parker Bax never wavered. He got a ground-ball fielder's choice and a flyout to left field to end the game.
"I knew I could throw a strike here if I wanted to," Parker Bax said.
Keilholz worked around numerous tough innings, holding Blair Oaks to just the one run in the fourth inning while striking out six.
"Joey's the guy we want on the bump because he's the senior, he's been the team leader," Brian Bax said. "He is the rock, heart and soul, and I've said it a million times this year, as he goes, we go."
Keilholz stranded nine runners through the first six innings, while relief pitcher Gage Bax left two more runners on base to finish the top of the seventh. Keilholz reached his 105th pitch with one out in the seventh.
After the medal presentation, Brian Bax shared a quick word with Keilholz in the dugout.
"I told him that I loved him and that this is the way you want to go out," Brian Bax said. "We got where we wanted to be."
All nine seniors between the two teams played in the championship game.
There is the possibility Blair Oaks could move back up to Class 4 next season, but DeMilia feels confident with the players he has returning.
"We've got a ton coming back," he said. "We're going to miss those six guys, they were vital pieces, but we've got guys who can replace most of them."
Fatima loses three seniors from this year's runner-up team, but Brian Bax can't wait to get started on his second year as head coach with the Comets.
"We have as much or more talent coming in next year as we did this year," he said. "We're going to play the same strength of schedule. I've got a lot of really good freshmen that'll be sophomores next year and contribute right away at the varsity level.
"Doing what we did this year was special, especially as a first-year coach."