Bulldogs Baseball Falls to #1 Ranked Willard
- RoMoAthletics
- Apr 7
- 6 min read
April 6th, 2026
The Bulldogs got an up close and personal look at one of the top baseball programs in the State of Missouri on Monday. The Willard Tigers, currently ranked #1 in Class 5, jumped to an early lead on the Bulldogs and was able to hold off the Bulldog run. The Bulldogs climbed back into the game but a late surge by Willard handed the Bulldogs their 4th loss of the season.
Digging a Hole
Offensively, the Bulldogs were able to match the vaunted Tiger offense as each team had 8 hits on the night. But the extra baserunners due to 11 walks by the Bulldogs while Willard did not walk a single Rolla batter.
When you add in that the Tigers had 11 stolen bases, then their hits had more value with the runners being in scoring position.
Willard put up 3 runs in the first inning and had a 4-0 lead as the Bulldogs entered the top of the 3rd inning.
As has been the case all season, the Bulldogs do not give up.
The Bulldogs Respond
The Bulldogs answered with their own 3 run inning in the 3rd with senior Colton Petersmith doubling in senior Ruger Covey who led off the inning with a single. Senior Landen Richter brings courtesy runner sophomore Connor Hirtz around on a single. Senior Jack Mrozowicz brought home CP on a fly out to left field.
After 5 innings the Bulldogs trailed 4 to 6 but Willard, a favorite to win the Class 5 crown, responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th to seal the victory.
Coach Ken Hohe was pleased with the grit the Bulldogs showed to battle back. "Jenson (Thomas) battled and was pretty solid after the first. He is a gamer and kept us in it when they had a chance to bury us early.”
“Offensively we battled all night. Landen Richter and Ruger Covey had great games.”
The Bulldogs fielding was crisp all night as they did not commit an error which pleased Hohe, but the walks given up were the downfall. “We walked 11 batters and 6 of those guys scored. We had a chance late but we walked 5 more in the 6th and I think 3 or 4 of them scored.”
The Bulldogs have a chance to get back on track as they take on Pacific Tuesday evening in an away game.
Bulldog JV Falls to Willard 0 - 8
The Bulldogs JV outhit Willard 5 to 4 but was unable to bring any of the baserunners around to score and were shutout 0-8 in 6 innings.
As with the varsity game, the walks piled up along with 2 errors giving the Tigers plenty of opportunity to score.
Junior Chase Hudson came in in relief and pitched four and two-thirds innings striking out 8 batters and walking 2.
Next Up
Tuesday April 7th at Pacific (5-5) 4:30 pm start
Missouri River Festival in Jeff City
Thursday vs Blair Oaks (6-1) at 3pm
Friday vs Kearnedy (8-5) at 12pm
Friday vs Timberland (3-5-1) at 4pm
Saturday vs St. Charles West (3-5) at 9am
The Scorebook: Rolla Bulldogs 4, Willard Tigers 10
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
Rolla (7-4) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
Willard (11-1) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | x | 10 | 8 | 2 |
Rolla Bulldogs
Lineup | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
C. Petersmith | CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
L. Richter | 2B,SS,2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
J. Mrozowicz | RF,P,RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
J. Thomas | P,2B,SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
R. Snodgrass | 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
L. Jenkins | 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
B. Sbabo | SS,RF,P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
R. Covey | LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
C. Williams | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TEAM | 31 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
2B: Colton Petersmith, Landen Richter
TB: Landen Richter 3, Colton Petersmith 2, Ruger Covey 2, Chase Williams 1, Jack Mrozowicz 1, Logan Jenkins 1
HBP: Chase Williams
Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
J. Thomas | 5.0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
C. Hirtz | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
J. Mrozowicz | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
B. Sbabo | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
TEAM | 6.0 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
WP: Jenson Thomas
Pitches-Strikes: Jenson Thomas 115-61, Connor Hirtz 12-5, Jack Mrozowicz 20-7, Blaine Sbabo 9-3
Batters Faced: Jenson Thomas 26, Connor Hirtz 3, Jack Mrozowicz 5, Blaine Sbabo 2
Willard Tigers
Lineup | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
C. Hayter | SS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
J. Redd | P | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
J. McGee | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
L. Hilton | RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
T. Davis | 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
E. Arnold | 1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
M. Burns | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
E. Redd | LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
K. Adams | CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
TEAM | 25 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
2B: Levi Hilton, Tyler Davis
3B: Jackson Redd
HR: Levi Hilton
TB: Levi Hilton 6, Jackson Redd 3, Evan Arnold 2, Tyler Davis 2, Kyler Adams 1, Matthew Burns 1
SB: Cade Hayter 2, Jarrett McGee 2, Kyler Adams 2, Matthew Burns 2, Evan Arnold, Jackson Redd, Tyler Davis
CS: Jackson Redd
E: Tyler Davis 2
Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
Jackson Redd (W) | 4.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
TEAM | 7.0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
HBP: Jackson Redd
Pitches-Strikes: #9 34-24, Jackson Redd 76-50
Batters Faced: #9 12, Jackson Redd 21
The Scorebook: Rolla Bulldogs JV 0, Willard Tigers JV 8
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
Rolla JV (2-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Willard JV | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
Rolla Bulldogs JV
Lineup | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
K. Ace | 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
C. Hirtz | SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Z. McWilliams | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
– C. Hudson | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
G. Hohe | LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
W. Richards | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Q. Girondo | CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
T. Jenkins | 1B,3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
D. Spinaio | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
C. Voigt | RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
B. Lukefahr | 1B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
R. Perry | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TEAM | 23 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
TB: Beckett Lukefahr 1, Connor Hirtz 1, Kyllian Ace 1, Rodrick Perry 1, Westin Richards 1
HBP: Gibson Hohe
E: Ty Jenkins 2
Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
Z. McWilliams (L) | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
C. Hudson | 4.2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
TEAM | 5.2 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
WP: Zyair McWilliams
HBP: Zyair McWilliams 2
Pitches-Strikes: Zyair McWilliams 58-22, Chase Hudson 78-50
Batters Faced: Zyair McWilliams 12, Chase Hudson 21
Willard Tigers JV
Lineup | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
R. Riggs | CF | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
K. Merryman | SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
C. Rose | 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
K. Simmons | 3B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
N. Angel | RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
N. Miller | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
E. Foster | 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
M. Burns | RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
J. Reynolds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
TEAM | 22 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 11 |
3B: Kellen Merryman
TB: Kellen Merryman 3, Noah Miller 2, Mason Burns 1
HBP: Jaxon Reynolds, Ricky Riggs
SB: Kulton Simmons 2, Malachi Coons 2, Ricky Riggs 2
Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
T. Flynn (W) | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
TEAM | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
HBP: Tanner Flynn
Pitches-Strikes: Tanner Flynn 85-58
Batters Faced: Tanner Flynn 24