Last March the coaching staff at Liberty Christian was scrambling to find enough players to field a baseball team.Fourteen months later, they are searching for space in the trophy case for the school’s latest piece of hardware.In just the second year of the program’s existence, the Eagles are celebrating their first state championship on the diamond.Liberty Christian wrapped up its title run by sweeping three opponents during the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association State Tournament, which concluded on Saturday.“To take a program this young to this level so quickly is next to unheard of,” said Coach Ron Dickson. “We were able to pull it off with a great group of kids who really bought in and believed in themselves.”There were plenty of heroes in this story, beginning with the trio named to the all-tournament team.Sophomore Jake Pietzman was stellar on the mound, as junior Kaleb Bagby was flawless at the plate.Meanwhile, senior Tanner Meyer was able to put behind him the haunting memories of losing in the state basketball championship the past two seasons. This time it was a much happier ending for he and classmate Calvin Edwards.“We wanted to send Tanner and Calvin out as winners,” said Dickson. “Calvin had never been a part of that in two years, so it was pretty heartbreaking that it did’t happen in basketball.”The Eagles championship contest was the least eventful of the three state games, ending early with a 10-1 rout over Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis.“It’s been awesome to finish out my senior year with a win,” said Meyer. “I wouldn’t trade this season with a great group of young guys for anything. It’s been awesome to see them grow.”Pietzman controlled the game from the mound, having fun along the way.“Jake chose a great time to pitch his best game of the year,” said Dickson.At the beginning of each inning Pietzman glanced over at Meyer with affirmation and pointed to Edwards in the outfield.“It was kind of my way of showing them that I was pitching for them,” said Pietzman. “Not myself. Not anyone in the stands. I was pitching for my seniors.”CAGSL’s starting pitcher made an early exit after giving up five runs in the first inning, and the Eagles never relinquished.Friday’s meeting hadn’t been quite as easy, with Liberty Christian falling behind by four runs before defeating Plaza Heights 9-8.Bagby, who didn’t strike out the entire weekend, hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.“Coach had been telling us all year not to let the third strike go by without swinging, so I put it in play however I could,” said Bagby. “When you make the other team make a play, good things can happen, and it worked this weekend for us.”Pietzman had led off the inning with a single, while eighth grader Andrew Voss and Meyer reached base on walks.“They put themselves in a tight spot, intentionally walking Tanner, and Kaleb made them pay,” said Dickson.The Eagles had fallen behind 4-0, before Braden Grow provided a rally-igniting hit to turn the tide.Liberty Christan opened the tournament with a 7-3 win over Westwood Christian, again overcoming a deficit.Down 3-0 going into the bottom of the first inning, the Eagles immediately countered with seven runs.“Winning state our second year was awesome,” said Pietzman. “At the beginning of the year, I didn’t think it was going to happen, but then we started getting a lot better, and I knew we had a chance at winning.”STATE CHAMPIONSDerrick Forsythe photo.