Valle tops Class 4 Nixa to begin tough tourney

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Valle Catholic baseball team received a superb effort from senior starter Andrew Bader, and produced six extra-base hits on Thursday night to begin the Red & Blue Tournament in triumphant fashion.

Thomas Hermann opened the second inning with a towering home run over the fence in right-center field, and Nolan Carrow reached base three times as the Warriors defeated Class 4 opponent Nixa 6-3.

Brett Shuh accounted for two of his team’s five doubles, and Valle notched single runs in every inning except the fourth to build a 6-1 lead. No. 9 batter Adam Werner singled, walked and sacrificed in three plate appearances.

Bader allowed no earned runs on six hits and recorded seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work. He retired 12 of the next 14 batters after Dean Deetz was thrown out stretching a leadoff double in the first inning.

Nixa (4-3) tallied two runs after an error extended the bottom of the sixth, then picked up back-to-back singles against Bader in the seventh, but Wayde Roth fanned his lone batter faced to earn the save.

Bader finished 2-for-4 at the plate and Zach Weiler added a double for the Warriors (5-1), who will challenge Arkansas powerhouse Greenwood today in pool play at Hillcrest High School.