After historic semifinal appearance, here's why Nixa baseball thinks it will be back soon
OZARK — About 15 minutes after the heartbreak set in, Nixa senior Tanner Grant couldn't help but let out a smile when he thought about the growth of the Eagles baseball program and the bright future it will continue to have.
Making its first semifinal appearance in 1974, Nixa baseball had already achieved history that Friday night's 2-1 Class 6 semifinal loss to Liberty North won't erase. Grant got to see it grow from a respected area program to one that's been consistently regarded as one of the state's best during his last two years in the uniform.
Fighting until the end, Grant couldn't be more proud to wear the Nixa uniform and will never stop believing in what the program can accomplish.
"It's awesome," Grant said. "You know, this wasn't at all what we wanted but we always fight. We're never out of a game and it just ran out of time out there. It sucks, but baseball is fun."
The belief has been established and will continue on following the Eagles' third-place game finale on Saturday evening. For the second-straight year, the Eagles won 30-plus games with this year being their most successful after a history-making run that included their first district title since 2016.
In those two years, the Eagles have been led by head coach Logan Hughes who made his way over from being a Drury assistant. He's established a culture that includes good team chemistry and hard work that won't go away as long as he's in the dugout.
"I think our guys learned that anything's possible," Hughes said. "If you believe in each other and believe in the process and fall in love with work and the process of getting better, then you just go play and it takes care of itself. I think our guys learned that and we did a lot of stuff this year.
"If you want to do something you've never done, you gotta do some things you've never done before. I'm really proud of these guys' effort whether it's in the classroom or in the weight room. I think our guys learned that we belong here."
Nixa looked like it belonged throughout a high-level pitching duel between it and the defending state champions. The margin for error was so thin that it came down to one error during the bottom of the first.
Both of Liberty North's runs came after a two-out throwing error. One scored on the play before the other was later driven in by Oklahoma commit Bo Jonas. Outside of those two plays, Nixa held one of the best offenses in the state scoreless with senior Ethan Taylor pitching a complete-game gem — going six innings and allowing two hits and no earned runs.
Offensively, Nixa struggled to push runners across when it had opportunities. It left the bases loaded in the second without a run and left another two runners in scoring position between the third and fifth. The Eagles' lone run came after Missouri State commit Wyatt Vincent tripled and was driven home by a Caeden Cloud double in the fifth.
Liberty North standout Tate McGuire, an Arkansas signee, looked like the highly-touted prospect he is by going six innings and striking out 11 with five hits allowed.
"I'm so proud of these guys," Hughes said. "We had opportunities. One time we got the big hit and the second time, we didn't get it. But man, I'm just so proud of this team. We fought until the last pitch."
The experience of a deep postseason run and having young stars on the roster will bode well for Hughes' Eagles heading into the future. Only four in Nixa's starting lineup graduated and the coach expressed excitement about the pitchers he has coming up through the program.
Hughes also looked to the community support as the Nixa faithful made the short drive into the enemy-Ozark territory to pack the stands and celebrate the history the Eagles accomplished.
"I think our guys learned a lot tonight that when you put people in front of yourselves and you worry about taking care of other people, which we did as a team, people will pay you back," Hughes said. "The game of life and baseball will pay you back and our community paid us back tonight."
As for the outgoing seniors, Taylor left his mark in his lone season with the program after moving from Idaho. When looking at where he could attend, Taylor chose Nixa because he believed in what the coaching staff was building and thought it would make him better. He saved his best performance for last as heads into the next chapter of his career, wherever that may take him.
Grant, joined by Mason Eagleburger, Collin Ussery, Reese Dimberger and others, was part of a two-year build into what he thinks will be a strong foundation for the Eagles for years to come.
Grant knows that there's no way that it's going to take the Eagles another 49 years to make it back near the mountaintop.
"We're going to live here," Grant said. "We're going to live at this place in the postseason and they're just going to continue to do great things. This team is going to be solid every year."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Nixa falls to Liberty North in MSHSAA Class 6 baseball semifinals
