MAKE THAT ST. MAGNIFICENT; ST. VINCENT COMPLETES 1A RUN WITH 9-0 WIN IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

St. Vincent players saluted their fans after they defeated North Shelby 9-0 to win the Class 1A state championship Thursday in Columbia.

COLUMBIA -- Forget about the record.

Forget about the No. 3 district seed.

St. Vincent is undeniably the best team in Class 1A.

Period.

The Indians (16-13) defeated the North Shelby Raiders 9-0 in the state championship game Thursday to complete a steamroll through the final four at Simmons Field.

In its final two games, St. Vincent -- which finished the year undefeated against Class 1A schools -- outscored its opponents 19-0 and outhit them 25-3.

"I can't say enough about these kids the past two days," said St. Vincent coach Rick Wibbenmeyer. "We've always stressed pitching and defense but the past two days we hit the ball hard. I can't say enough of how proud I am of them. They believed and they did a tremendous, tremendous job."

They won the game behind the brilliant pitching of sophomore Tyler Wengert who hurled a complete-game two-hitter. The right-hander walked two and struck out seven, including the last two batters of the game.

Upon the last strikeout Wengert crouched at the foot of the mound and awaited the inevitable mob by his peers as they celebrated the school's first baseball state championship.

"These four seniors (Cory Strattman, Josh Robinson, Gabe Hotop and Justin Amschler) are very important to me," said Wengert. "I just praise the Lord for the opportunity to be here and that last strikeout was for those seniors."

Hotop reflected the admiration.

"You can't say enough about the pitching," he said. "You give up three hits (in two games), it's hard to beat you."

The shutout was the Indians' fourth since the start of district play and was the 10th victory overall for St. Vincent, which stood a meager 6-13 before its run. In seven district and state playoff games, St. Vincent outscored its 1A opponents 48-9.

St. Vincent, like it did in its semifinal win, made solid contact throughout the game against North Shelby (12-7).

The 13-hit attack was led by Adam Bockman who tied a Class 1A championship game record with four hits. He also scored three runs.

Gabe Hotop and Cory Strattman -- both seniors -- added two hits apiece.

"We would've like to have won two state championships our senior year," said Hotop, who was a member of the football team which was ranked first for much of the year before falling in a quarterfinal game. "But this is nice. I can't describe (how I feel). It's a good way to go out as a senior, that's for sure."

St. Vincent scored one run in the first, three in the third, three in the fifth and one in the sixth and seventh.

The Indians, who became the first school in state history to win a title with 10 or more losses, took advantage of eight North Shelby errors. The Indians also had three runners thrown out at the plate and had two runners caught stealing.

In the first, Bockman singled and later scored on an error.

In the third, Bockman led off with a single and Brandon Carroll drove him home on a double down the left-field line. Later in the inning, Ryan Brown reached on a fielder's choice and scored on an error. Hotop then reached on an error and scored on a single by Derek Kutz.

Two errors and two hits to led to three unearned runs for St. Vincent in the fifth. Carroll and Brown both reached on errors, followed by an RBI single by Hotop and an RBI double by Strattman.

Meanwhile, Wengert was cruising.

"I came in today thinking I'd have to use the breaking ball a lot," he said. "But my arm felt good and I threw the fastball most of the day. I used the curve some to set up batters, but it was mostly the fastball."

Scott Gaines suffered the loss for North Shelby.

In three innings, he allowed four runs, one earned, on six hits and no walks. He struck out two.