CALIFORNIA - The Fatima Comets overcame an early deficit Wednesday night, scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull past the Eldon Mustangs 7-4 in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 8 Tournament.
Fatima sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning. Chase Plassmeyer drew a bases-loaded walk to break a tie at 2, then Blake Gentges followed with an RBI single. Gage Cunningham hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Dalton Gentges to put Fatima ahead 5-2.
The Comets scored their final two runs of the inning on a two-out error.
Hunter Hees hit an RBI single in the first inning for Eldon, then added an RBI double in the third, scoring Braydy Hill both times to put the Mustangs ahead 2-0.
Shane Verslues and Cunningham each hit a sacrifice fly for Fatima to tie the game at 2.
In the seventh, Kasen Bashore had an RBI single and Hill scored his third run of the game on a wild pitch, cutting the Fatima lead to three. Comets relief pitcher Daniel Kleffner, however, didn't let the tying run come to the plate, ending the game with a flyout.
John Dickneite pitched the first three innings for Fatima, while Kleffner pitched the last four to earn the win. Both pitchers allowed two runs on three hits and recorded two strikeouts.
Fisher Snelling pitched 5 innings for Eldon, giving up six runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Hees closed the sixth, striking out one.
Boyce had two singles to lead Fatima, while Hees had a single and a double and Bashore finished with two singles for Eldon.
Eldon, the No. 4 seed in the district, ends its season with a 7-20 record.
Fatima (16-7) the No. 1 seed, will face second-seeded Blair Oaks (24-5) in a state-ranked matchup for the district championship at 5 p.m. today. Blair Oaks won Wednesday's other semifinal 5-0 against third-seeded California.
Blair Oaks is ranked No. 3 in Class 4 and Fatima is ranked No. 10. The Comets won their regular-season matchup 5-1 last month in Westphalia.