State baseball Live Blog — Rogersville vs. Bishop DuBourg

12:41: Thanks for following along. Check the site later today for our feature on Seth Conner and his incredible transformation from good to a future professional.

12:39: What a game! DuBourg advances to the Class 3 championship game to play the winner of Winfield and Pembroke Hill. First pitch is 1 p.m Saturday.

Rogersville will play the loser in the 10 a.m. third-place game.

12:34: Stat geekage:

Rogersville offense

• Travis Schlesener, 2-for-4
• Seth Conner, 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, BB
• Austin Jessen, 1-for-4, triple, 3 RBIs
• Zach Herman, 3-for-3, 2B, BB
• Steve Nagrich, 2-for-3, RBIs

Rogersville pitching

• Randy Preslar, 3 1/3 IP, 8 R (7 ER), 9 H, 1 K, 1 B
• Tome Kirkland, 0 IP, 2 BB, 2 R (0 ER)
• Austin Jessen, 3 2/3 IP, 2 R (2 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K

DuBourg offense

• Nicholas Montero, 3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 SB
• James Schwent, 4-for-5, 2 RBIs, 3 R, 2 2Bs
• Tyler Zychinski, 2-for-4
• Jeremy Tyler, 3-for-4, RBI

DuBourg pitching

• Matt Linderer, 5 IP, 9 R (6 ER), 13 hits, 1 BB, 4 K
• Josh Wagemann, 2 IP, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 K

12:28: Holiday grounds out back to the pitcher to end the game. DuBourg wins 12-11 in a crazy game. Conner was standing in the on-deck circle. What instantly comes to mind is T. Schlesener getting thrown out at home in the fourth inning.

Rog will play the loser of this game in tomorrow’s 10 a.m. third-place game. Back with stat geekage momentarily.

12:27: Schlesener strikes looking out on a breaking ball. Holiday is up. Conner is on deck.

12:24: Nagrich is in an incredible at-bat. Seventh pitch upcoming, full count. He takes ball four and there is a runner on with one out. Top of the order for L-R.

12:22: Gault grounds out to Linderer, the new third baseman. One down. Nagrich has reached all three times and has two RBIs.

12:20: Ward lines out to the second baseman. After six and a half innings, DuBourg leads 12-11.

Due up for Rog: Gault, Nagrich, T. Schlesener. (Conner would be fifth)

12:17: Jessen has settled in. He gets Cebulski and Linderer to ground out harmlessly. Two strikes on Ward. The crowd is starting to get fired up.

12:13: Herman walks, but ball four skips away from the catcher. The score remains 12-11 after E. Schlesener grounds out to second base to end the inning.

Heading to the seventh ining, BD leads 12-11.

Due up for BD, Cebulski, Linderer, Ward.

12:12: Young strikes out on a curveball in the dirt. Will Jessen get stranded at third? There are two outs and Herman, who is 3-for-3, is at the plate.

12:09: Jessen smokes a 3-1 fastball up the middle that skips over the center fielder’s head. All three runners score and Jessen ends up on third. I’ve never seen a ball shoot up like that in the outfield. It’s 12-10 BD.

12:07: Conner walks on five pitches, which was probably going to happen anyway if first base would have been open. Either way, the bases are loaded for Jessen, who is 0-for-3 and the lone Wildcat to not reach base.

12:05: Holiday tries to bunt and reaches on a FC 2-5 as the bunt looked to hit the plate, but the ump called it a fair ball. Nagrich is out at third with Conner coming up.

12:02: Rog won’t quit. Nagrich singles to reach for the third time and Schlesener gets hit second hit. That will be all for Linderer, who allows 13 hits in an inauspicious outing. He’s replaced by third baseman Joshua Wagemann.

11:57: A bad hop eludes Conner and Montero has another hit. It scores Tyler and Montero takes second. Schwent is retired for the first time to end the inning.

BD leads 12-7 after five and a half innings.

Due up for Rog: Nagrich, T. Schlesener, Holiday.

11:55: Mazzuca singles through the hole on the right side and Tyler moves to second. BD is looking to blow this one wide open like the Lakers did to the Celtics last night.

11:53: Tyler singles over Conner’s head and Zychinski scores to make it 11-7. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t see a high-scoring game coming today.

11:51: Zychinski takes second on a wild pitch and Althage flies out to the left fielder. Can Jessen walk the tight rope again?

11:46: Ward grounds out to the second baseman. Zychinski singles up the middle.

11:42: Schlesener flies out to right field and Herman wisely stays at second. Montero threw a laser to third. Gault grounds out to second and the inning is over.

After five innings, BD leads 10-7.

Due up for BD: Linderer, Ward, Zychinski.

11:41: Young strikes out swinging, but Herman strokes his third hit of the game up the middle. He stole a base in the second inning.

11:38: Cebulski offers at a pitch in the dirt and he’s called out on strikes. Rog flirts with danger, but escapes with the 10-7 lead in tact after five and a half innings.

Due up for Rog: Young, Herman, E. Schelesner.

11:36: Ball four to Schwent is in the dirt and Montero takes third. Jessen is flirting with more disaster.

11:34: It’s also not over for BD. Montero singles for the third time and steals his third base. Schwent, who is at the plate, has three hits, too.

11:32: Tyler is retired 4-3, but Mazzuca is hit by a pitch. Ethan Schelesener hoses Mazzuca at second, trying to steal. Rog has new life, especially if Jessen can throw scoreless innings. This one is not over.

11:27: Jessen grounds out to shortstop to end the inning. The Wildcats score five to cut the lead down to 10-7. Can Rog capitalize on the momentum?

Du up: Tyler, Mazzuca, Montero?

11:25: Conner obliterates one off the left-center field wall. Gault scores. Nagrich scores. Travis Schlesener scores is thrown out at home on a strong throw from center field. Conner ends up at third and it’s 10-7 with two outs. As someone in the press box said, Rog is playing angry.

11:21: Holiday lasers one up the middle to score Gault. It’s 10-5 with one out and Conner is at the plate. Did we mention he has 11 home runs? Should be drafted on Wednesday? This is fun.

11:19: Travis Schlesener smokes the eighth hit off Linderer up the middle, but it’s hit so hard that Gault can’t score. Bases loaded and one out for Holiday. Conner looms on deck.

11:17: Negrich gets his second RBI, this time hitting a double play ball that turns into an E6. Herman scores and Gault ends up on second. There is still only one out and it’s 10-4 Rog. Still a long way to go.

11:16: E. Schelesener  strikes out on a high fastball, but Gault singles to right field. Herman takes third.

11:15: For more on Rogersville’s Seth Conner, check back to the site this afternoon for an in-depth feature. He has an insprirational story you have to read.

11:12: Young bloops one over the shortstop’s head and it looks like a single, but the two outfielders hit each other and Young ends up on third. He’s plated by a Herman RBI double down the 3B line. It’s his second hit of the day and Rog gets one back to cut it to 10-3. Linderer is lucky to have the run support. He hasn’t looked dominating today.

11:08: Another wild pitch scores a run, this time it’s Linderer and he’s the seventh run of the inning. 10-2 BD. Jessen walks  and Jessen snares a line drive up the middle and flips it to Conner for the final out.

BD scores seven runs and brings 11 batters to the plate against three pitchers. After three and a half, it’s 10-2.

Due up for Rog: young, Herman and E. Schlesener.

11:05: Jessen freezes Zychinski on a breaking ball for the second out, but the next pitch is in the dirt and goes to the backstop. Cebulski scores and it’s 9-2.

11:04: Kirkland walks both batters he faces and he is out of the game in favor of Austin Jessen. In the meantime, Schwent scored to make it 8-2. There is still only one out in the inning and this feels like a mercy rule waiting to happen.

11:01: Cebulski steals second. Linderer walks. It feels like the dam is going to break at any second. Bases loaded and only one out.

10:58: Schwent takes third on a wild pitch. Kirkland makes a great play on a ground ball up the middle, but babies the throw to first and it skips in the dirt. E1. First and third, one out for Linderer.

10:54: Schwent gets his third hit of the day, blasting a line drive over the left fielder’s head. He reaches second and Montero scores to make it 7-2 DuBourg. Lotz has made a pitching change and Tome Kirkland will take over.

10:53: Montero singles to plate Tyler. DuBourg leads 6-2, and Montero promptly steals second.

10:51: A ground ball finds Conner, but it takes a funny hop and there’s no play at home. Zychinski scores and Mazzuca is out at first. On the next pitch, Althage scores on a wild pitch and Tyler takes third. There is still only one out and it’s 5-2 DuBourg.

10:49: Rogersville coach Brad Lotz goes to the mound for a meeting. He’s walking slow. He can’t be happy.

He’s even more unhappy now. Tyler lobs a ball over a drawn-in infield to load the bases. The Rog infield is in and this could be the game.

10:47: Zychinski lobs a ball to left field for a single. Not many of the five hits Preslar has allowed have been hit hard. On a sacrifice attempt, the ball gets past Preslar and Althage reaches. First and second, no one out for DuBourg.

10:45: Quick inning for Linderer. He gets Holiday to fly out to right field, strikes Conner out looking on a curveball and snares a grounder from Jessen and throws to first.

After three, BD leads 3-2.

Due up, Zychinski, Althage and Tyler.

10:44: We don’t have time to do much of this, but here is a video of Bryce Harper’s ejection from the other day. Harper is expected to be the No. 1 pick in next week’s MLB draft. Here are his stats, by the way.

10:39: Ward strikes out to end the inning. BD takes the lead 3-2 after two and a half.

Due up: Holiday, Conner, Jessen

10:38: Linderer plates Schwent on a sacrifice fly to center field. BD leads 3-2.

10:37: Cebulski grounds a ball out of the strike zone to first baes and moves Schwent to third with one out. Smart baseball.

10:36: Schwent rips a single up the middle that buzzes Preslar’s head. Schwent steals second on the next pitch.

10:33: Many of Linderer’s pitches look to be on the outside part of the plate, but in the strike zone. Travis Schlesener grounds out to second to end the inning – the third 4-3 putout of the inning.

After two, the game is tied at 2.

Due up: Schwent, Cebulski, Linderer.

10:32: Nagrich is a machine. The junior third baseman amends for his error and steals second base.

10:30: No. 9 hitter Steve Nagrish plates Mantle on a single to right field, immediately after Mantle took third on a ground out to second. The game is tied at 2.

10:28: Ethan Schlesener pops a single to center and the Wildcats are in business. Herman steals third and the throw gets past the BD third baseman. Herman comes to score and the courtesy runner Beau Mantle takes second. Rog has life.

10:27: Young grounds out weakly to second base, but Herman slaps a single to center field.

10:24: Preslar escapes danger and gets Montero to fly out to left field and strand two runners. After one and a half, DuBourg leads 2-0.

Due up: Young, Herman, E. Schelesener.

10:23: Despite a friendly hop, the Rog third baseman can’t convert a routine 5-3 and it goes for an error. Tyler can’t advance past second base. A wild pitch moves both runners up with two outs. Big moment for L-R.

10:21: Tyler reaches on an infield single that Conner gobbles up, but can’t do anything with. A few pitches later, Ethan Schlesener gobbles up a pitch in the dirt and throws out Althage at third base.

10:19: Zychinski flies out to center field and Althage walks. On a more interesting note, Latsch, the encyclopedia of STL HS sports knowledge, tells me the last time DuBourg won a district title was 1961 — the same year as the last time the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Chew on that.

10:17: We are always looking to help good people out, so please patronize the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Live Blog by clicking here.

10:16: Jessen strikes out looking on an outside fastball to retire the side.

After one inning, DuBourg leads 2-0.

Due up: Ward, Zychinski, Althage.

10:14: Conner singles up the middle on a ball up. I’d look for Conner to steal.

10:12: Although the strike zone looked about the size of a coffee can, Travis Schlesener draws a four-pitch leadoff walk. It goes for not as Holiday grounds into a 6-4-3 double play.

10:09: Preslar elicits another fly out to center field to retire the side. After a half-inning, DuBourg leads 2-0.

Due up: T. Schlesener, Holiday, Conner

10:07: Cebulski plates Schwent on groundout to second base. One out, but DuBourg leads 2-0. A flyout to center field retires Linderer for the second out.

10:05: After a missed bunt attempt, Schwent gets jammed, but it falls in just inside the left field line. The speedster Montero scores. On the next pitch, a passed ball gets past Rogersville’s catcher and moves Schwent to third.

The only start that could be worse for the Wildcats would be home run-home run.

10:03: And Prelar’s first pitch is singled up the middle. Latsch leans over and says Montero — one of five lefties amongst the first six batters — will be stealing second in three seconds.

Before I can hit publish, Montero steals second.

9:57: If you need a primer on DuBourg pitcher Matt Linderer, The STL Post Dispatch’s prize jewel Nate Latsch wrote this story on him this morning, focusing on his respect for the late Darryl Kile.

9:53: Starting lineups:

DuBourg (23-4)

Nicholas Montero, rf (.368)
James Schwent, 2b (.375)
Michael Cebulski, cf (.391)
Matt Linderer, rhp (.371, 7-1 as pitcher)
Justin Ward, lf (.359)
Tyler Zychinski, 1b (328)
Timothy Althage, dh (.294)
Jeremy Tyler, ss (.297)
Anthony Mazzuca, c (.246)
(Joshua Wagemann is playing 3b)

Rogersville (21-5)

Travis Schlesener, lf (. 274)
Korey Holiday, 1b (.408)
Seth Conner, ss (.493, 11 HR)
Austin Jessen, dh (.393)
Joe Young, cf (.451)
Zach Herman, 2b (.306)
Ethan Schlesener, c (.266)
Trenton Gault, rf (.246)
Steven Nagrich, 3b (.328)
(Randy Preslar is pitching, 8-1, 2.81 ERA, 50 Ks, 47 1/3 IP)

9:45: Welcome to Meador Park for a slice of Ozarks history. The first Class 3 semifinal between Rogersville and Bishop DuBourg features a ton of intrigue, starting with Rog SS Seth Conner and DuBourg righthanded pitcher Matt Linderer.

While formulating a list of of Missouri’s top MLB draft prospects, both Conner, a Missouri State recruit, and Linderer, who has signed with Mizzou, are both in the list. Linderer totes his 1.37 ERA and his 76 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings to the mound. For Conner, he has as many home runs (11) as he does singles (11) and doubles (11).

Stay tuned for the lineups.

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Rogersville High School’s baseball team is in unchartered territory, and the TAGsgf.com Live Blog will be on hand to document the occasion.

Behind the strength of senior shortstop Seth Conner and a resilient pitching staff/defense, Rogersville has advanced to the state baseball semifinals for the first time and will be facing St. Louis-area private school Bishop DuBourg, which is also making its state baseball debut. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Meador Park.

Can’t make the game? Can’t get near a radio? Don’t sweat, Allen Vaughan will be on hand to give running commentary and analysis.

Tell your friends and we will get it off the ground at 9:45 a.m.