NEW ORLEANS - Facing elimination Friday afternoon, the Jefferson City Post 5 Seniors had the pitcher they wanted on the mound to keep their season alive.
So did Columbia (Tenn.) Post 19, and Ethan Mealer had one of the best pitching performances of the tournament.
Mealer struck out 10 batters and limited Post 5 to five hits, leading Columbia to a 4-0 win in the Mid-South Regional at Kirsch Rooney Stadium.
Jefferson City ends the season with a 25-11 record.
Connor McKenna pitched five innings for Post 5, but Columbia batted around the order in the second inning, leading to three runs.
Post 19 added another run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead.
Nathan Massey's two-run double to left field in the bottom of the second put Columbia on top. Massey would score later in the inning on an RBI single by William McCall.
In the third, Dillan Saunders hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Cole Flatt.
Mealer retired 10 of the first 11 Jefferson City batters he faced. Hayden Hirschvogel broke up the no-hit bid with a one-out single to right field in the fourth.
Post 5 tried to start a rally in the fifth, getting back-to-back singles from Drew Bax and Zach Stiles to open the inning. However, Mealer answered by striking out the next three batters to end the threat.
Parker Schnieders singled in the sixth and advanced to third on a single by Mason Hansen, but both runners were stranded.
Mealer retired Jefferson City in order in the seventh, finishing the shutout on 101 pitches.
McKenna took the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. After struggling in the second and third innings, McKenna retired six of the last seven batters he faced.
Ryan Paschal pitched the sixth for Post 5, retiring all three batters and getting a strikeout.
Jefferson City finished 1-2 at the regional for a second straight season.