With four of the five teams sporting a winning record, you could consider the Class 4, District 7 Tournament to be one of the toughest in the state. 

Wright City, entering the postseason with a 13-7-2 record, had the fourth seed and took advantage of an error at a pivotal time to keep its season alive Monday. 

“I believe we played really well,” Wildcats coach Ryan Raterman said. “It’s playoff baseball, and no matter how good or bad you play, it's all about having more runs than the other team at the end of the game and we were fortunate enough to have that result.”

No. 4 seed Fulton, sporting a 9-14 overall record, gave the Wildcats all they could ask for as Wright City needed a walk-off to capture the 5-4 win.

“Any win in the playoffs is celebratory, especially a walk-off win,” Raterman said. “But if you were to ask the boys, I think they slightly overlooked Fulton a tad because we wanted Southern Boone.”

Wright City fell behind the first few innings 2-0, but battled back to claim a two-run lead late in the ball game. Lone senior and closer Sam Unterreiner came in for the save, but things got very interesting as the Hornets tied it up in the seventh inning. 

“We came out a little flat and not as aggressive at the plate, which led to getting down early,” Raterman said. “We need to be more aggressive at the plate and limit our walks as a pitching staff. It is tough to defend a walk.”

The Wildcats drew two lead-off walks to start their half of the seventh when a missed bunt and run led to a base runner being thrown out at third base. Junior Ian Wolff moved to third on a passed ball to bring the infield in.

“We put constant pressure on Fulton via the bunt and stolen bases,” Raterman said. “We had eight stolen bases as a team.”

Junior Kyle Johnson struck out on a curveball in the dirt and with the first baseman retreating to the bag, the catcher’s throw sailed into right field which allowed Wolff to scamper on home for the walk-off win. 

“We had guys on base early and often throughout the game in scoring position,” Raterman said. “We just continued to chip away at the buffalo and came away with the ‘W.’ ”

Wolff had two of Wright City’s four hits in the game. Logan McCartney and Jake Mitts had the squad’s other hits. Devin Foust scored two of the Wildcats’ runs.

On the mound, Unterreiner earned the win in relief.  Logan Kellner and McCartney each pitched three innings. Kellner struck out seven and walked four in his appearance.

Wright City advanced to face top seed Southern Boone on Tuesday where Johnson did damage with his bat and right arm.

On the mound, Johnson controlled the majority of the game. He exited the game in the sixth inning after allowing only two runs. 

Earlier, Johnson had broken a 2-2 tie with a two-run blast in what ended up being the eventual winning run.

The Wildcats were scheduled to face No. 3 seed Boonville, which defeated  No. 2 Hallsville 5-4 in the other district semifinal game, on Wednesday.

Warrenton’s district opener rescheduled

Inclement weather in the first part of the week has postponed Warrenton’s district opener. The Warriors, seeded sixth in the Class 5, District 4 Tournament, played No. 3 St. Charles on Wednesday after The Record went to press. 

Wednesday’s winner will face either No. 2 Fort Zumwalt East or No. 7 McCluer North on Thursday at 4 p.m. The district title game will be played at 4 p.m. Friday. All games are being played at Zumwalt East.

Publisher Tim Schmidt contributed to this story.