Pitching Gems by Schley, Konvicka Lead Fayetteville to State Title Game

For the third consecutive season, the Fayetteville Lions baseball team is headed back to the 1A state title game.

The Lions (18-4) will face Gordon (23-5) at 9 a.m. Saturday at Dell Diamond for the 1A title. Fayetteville is hoping the third time is the charm after finishing as state runner-ups each of the last two seasons.

Fayetteville will be trying to win its 4th ever state baseball title as this year’s Lions try to join the champs from 1997, 2012 and 2021.

This is Fayetteville baseball’s 11th trip to the state baseball tournament. By contrast, this is Gordon’s first-ever trip this far in baseball.

“I definitely think it’s a benefit that we have been there as much as we have, but Gordon has state experience too, just not in baseball,” said Fayetteville head coach Clint Jaeger.

Gordon has won the last two six-man state football titles.

Fayetteville advanced to the title game by winning a thrill-a-minute best-of-three series over Brookeland last week in Huntsville.

Brookeland had come into that series with a 21-2 record but they had not seen pitching like Fayetteville could throw at them.

In Game 1, Fayetteville junior Jack Schley pitched a complete game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts as the Lions won 1-0.

“It was amazing what he did, and we needed every bit of it,” Clint Jaeger said. “We needed a shutout and he pitched it. I was telling the guys just get us one run and we’ll win this.”

That one run finally came in the sixth inning when freshman Kandon Kaspar drew a bases loaded walk to plate Easton Jaeger for the game’s only run.

That rally started when Jaeger reached on a Brookeland error, before Schley and Chance Konvicka walked to load the bases.

Game 2

With that Game 1 win in hand, an off-the-field chess match began to take shape.

Clint Jaeger knew it might be just as hard to score runs off Brookeland’s Game 2 starter Cade Morgan.

So Jaeger decided to pitch Kole Schmitt, followed by Easton Jaeger, in Game 2, saving standout hurler Chance Konvicka for a possible Game 3.

“A lot of thought went into it, and we went back and forth about it,” Clint Jaeger said about that pitching decision. “We knew it was going to be really tough to score runs against (Morgan). We had a feeling that Kole and Easton, and then Dylan Henneke if we needed him, could hold it close and give us a chance to win. It ended up being important that they didn’t allow many runs or they could have pulled (Morgan) early and saved him for the next day too.”

Schmitt did keep it close, pitching four innings of three-run ball (only two were earned) before Easton Jaeger pitched two scoreless.

Morgan was as good as advertised, striking out 15 in 6.1 innings of work. He left the game with two out in the seventh and Brookeland leading 3-0. Down to their final out, the Lions nearly pulled off an epic comeback against Morgan’s reliever.

Henneke single. Then Jack Winford tripled to plate Henneke.

Then Lawson Fritsch singled to plate Winford and suddenly Brookeland just led 3-2. Jaeger then singled to put the winning runs on, before a strikeout finally ended the game.

Game 3

That set the stage for Game 3 Friday, and Konvicka proved more than ready to go as Fayetteville won 3-1.

The senior pitched a complete game two-hitter with 16 strikeouts – a 1A record for a state semifinal or final game.

It was by far the most pitches (108) Konvicka has thrown this season after recovering from surgery last summer.

“We’ve been building him up and building him up,” Jaeger said. “He put us on his back and led us to the state championship game.”

Brookeland got their only run of the game in the first inning without a hit – a combination of a hit by pitch, and two steals sandwiched around a bunt.

Fayetteville tied the game in the third when Jack Schley tripled and came home on a Kaspar single.

The Lions took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth when Schley was hit by a pitch, Konvicka singled him to third and then he scored on a passed ball.

Later that inning the Lions got an important insurance run when Schmitt bunted home Mason Fenhaus, who was running for Konvicka.

After Konvicka got his 16th strikeout to end the game, it touched of a wild celebration for the Lions and their fans, who had lived on the edge of their seats for three nights in Huntsville.

“I’m really proud of our players for the way they handled the pressure because it was nerve-wracking, but they never wavered,” Clint Jaeger said. “They had it in their minds they were going to win no matter what, and they did.”