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Bulldogs Fall in Title Game of Bank Classic to Union, 6-7


Senior Colton Petersmith driving in a run at an earlier season game. (Photo courtesy of Chrissy Clardy Photography)
Senior Colton Petersmith driving in a run at an earlier season game. (Photo courtesy of Chrissy Clardy Photography)

March 28, 2026

The Bulldogs headed into the final day of the Union Bank Classic as the top seed from their pool needing two wins to walk away with the title. 


It was two hard fought, high scoring games on the day for the Bulldogs.  First with a come from behind victory over St. Francis Borgia then followed up by a rematch from Day 1 against the Union Wildcats. 


The Bulldogs battled back with a three run 6th inning but fell in the Championship Game, 6-7.


Coming From Behind to Defeat Borgia

Midway through the opening bracket play game against the St. Francis Borgia Knights, it looked like the Bulldogs hopes of playing for a tournament title might be slipping through their hands like the baseball had done early in the game as they racked up 6 errors.


Trailing  4 to 7 going into the bottom of the 4th, the Bulldogs needed to make a rally.


And rally they did.


The Bulldogs loaded the bases to start the game as the Borgia pitcher hit back-to-back batters and then walked the bases loaded. A Bulldog drive up the middle was fielded by the shortstop to get an out at second and then a questionable call at first resulted in a double-play.


But the Bulldogs got a run and now trailed 5 to 7 with 2 outs. 


An error on a towering shot to centerfield by Junior Chase Williams, allowed Senior Colton Petersmith to cross the plate with no play bringing the Bulldogs to within one run, 6 to 7.


Next up, Senior Riker Snodgrass drove a blast to center field to tie the ball game, driving in courtesy runner Sophomore Kyllian Ace to tie the game. An out followed, ending the inning.


It was scoreless until the bottom of the 6th when a lead off single by Petersmith, put the wheels in motion. A steal followed by a ground out advanced Petersmith to 3rd base where he didn’t stay for long as Senior Jenson Thomas hit a single to bring home Petersmith for their first lead of the game. 


Another single and then a fielder’s choice allowed the Bulldogs to add another run, leading 9 to 7 heading into the top of the 7th. 


Senior Logan Jenkins came in to close the game out striking out 2 and giving up no hits.


The Bulldogs advance to the Championship game for a rematch versus Union.



Championship Game

In the pool play game versus Union, the Bulldogs scored 8 runs in the first four innings while holding Union to just one run. They then had to fend off the Wildcats late rally to hold on to an 8-7 victory.


This time, it was a different story. Union jumped out to a 3 to nothing lead in the first inning and then led 6 to 2 heading into the 4th inning.


The Bulldogs needed another rally and they once again answered the call.


A three run 6th inning got the Bulldogs back to within one run heading into the final inning. Unfortunately, the Bulldog luck would run out and a scoreless 7th left the Bulldogs on the short end of the comeback stick.


The Bulldogs were able to clean up their defensive game, only committing 2 errors for the game while Union committed 7 errors. But offensively, the Bulldogs were not able to fully capitalize on those errors and the 7 walks given up by the Union pitchers in the game. 


Rolla Varsity Bulldogs's effort to come back from down five runs in the third inning came up just short, as they fell 7-6 to Union Varsity Wildcats 2026 on Saturday at Union High School. Rolla Varsity Bulldogs closed the gap by scoring on a single, a fly out, an error, and an error.


Rolla Varsity Bulldogs lost despite out-hitting Union Varsity Wildcats 2026 eight to six. 


Jenkins went 3 for 3 at the plate to lead the Bulldogs who outhit the Wildcats 8 to 6.  


Senior Landon Brown made his first appearance of the season coming on in relief and throwing four innings only allowing one run and striking out three.



Wrap Up

There was a lot of frustration being felt by the Bulldogs in falling short in the Championship Game. 


The team has shown flashes of their potential but have also shown some early season struggles that Coach Ken Hohe was surprised to see. 


“Defensively we have to make plays.  We fielded the ball poorly and  we threw it away too many times this weekend.” 


The 14 errors over the tournament is something Coach Hohe will be focusing on in the upcoming weeks. Of the 23 runs scored against the Bulldogs in the four games of the tournament, only 13 were earned.


The Bulldogs offense showed up averaging nearly 9 runs a game. But there were a lot of runs left on base as the Bulldogs were not efficient in scoring those runs.


“Offensively we have to hit in clutch situations.  We stranded way too many runners this weekend and we need to find a way to find the big hit in the tough spot,” said Hohe. 


That help may be on the way as Senior outfielder Jack Mrozowicz is cleared to play this week. The Missouri S&T baseball and football signee, brings powers, clutch hitting and some additional grit to the line-up.


Coach Hohe also talked about the importance of his arm barn getting on top early in the inning. “Pitching wise we need to do a better job of getting ahead in the count.  Too many 2-0, 2-1, 3-1 counts all tourney.”


The frustration of knowing what could have been is commonplace in the sports world. What is also common is coaches who know the potential of their team and want them to reach it sooner rather than later. 


Ultimately, Coach Hohe doesn’t want this team to settle with those near comebacks. He’s pushing the shared expectation on this team of what they can accomplish when they play to their ability. 


After the time to process the loss, Coach Hohe recognized that there were a lot of great moments this weekend. “We are 6-2 and have done a great job of battling every game, staying positive through adversity and finding a way to grind out wins.”


With the season just underway and some tougher opponents on the horizon, the Bulldogs are looking to clean up their play as they prepare for a post season run.


Next Up

Busy week for the Bulldogs

Tuesday March 31st at home versus Fatima (3-3) First pitch at 4:30 pm

Wednesday April 1st at Pacific (2-4) 4:30 pm start

Thursday April 2nd at Iberia (3-3) with a 5:00 pm start



Union Bank Classic Tournament Final Results

Pool A

Rolla over Union 8-7

Rolla over Lafayette (St. Joe) 12-2 in 5

Union over Lafayette (St. Joe) 8-4


Pool B

North Point over Borgia 6-2

North Point over Cape Notre Dame 4-1

Borgia over Cape Notre Dame 14-1 in 5


Loser’s Bracket

Cape Notre Dame over Lafayette (St. Joe) 4-0

Lafayette (St. Joe) over Cape Notre Dame 5-4


Semi Finals

Union over North Point 7-4

Rolla over Borgia 9-7


3rd Place Game

North Point over Borgia 13-10 in 10


Championship

Union over Rolla 7-6



The Scorebook: Rolla Bulldogs 0,  St. Francis Borgia 5



1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Borgia (2-4)

1

1

4

1

0

0

0

7

9

2

Rolla (6-1)

0

2

2

3

0

2

X

9

8

6


Rolla Bulldogs

Lineup

Pos

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

C. Petersmith

P,CF

3

2

1

0

0

0

L. Richter

2B

2

0

0

0

2

0

J. Thomas

SS

3

2

1

1

1

0

C. Williams

C

3

0

1

0

0

0

R. Snodgrass

3B

4

1

2

1

0

0

R. Covey

CF,1B

4

0

0

1

0

1

B. Sbabo

LF

2

1

1

1

0

0

L. Jenkins

1B,P

2

0

1

1

0

0

– Connor Hirtz

P

1

1

0

0

0

1

C. Hudson

RF

2

1

1

0

0

0

TEAM


26

9

8

5

3

2

2B: Riker Snodgrass

TB: Riker Snodgrass 3, Blaine Sbabo 1, Chase Hudson 1, Chase Williams 1, Colton Petersmith 1, Jenson Thomas 1, Logan Jenkins 1

HBP: Blaine Sbabo, Chase Hudson, Chase Williams, Colton Petersmith

SB: Landen Richter 2, Colton Petersmith, Connor Hirtz, Jenson Thomas, Riker Snodgrass

E: Jenson Thomas 2, Logan Jenkins 2, Landen Richter, Riker Snodgrass


Pitching

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

C. Petersmith

3.0

6

6

2

3

3

C. Hirtz

3.0

3

1

1

2

2

L. Jenkins

1.0

0

0

0

1

2

TEAM

7.0

9

7

3

6

7

WP: Colton Petersmith 2

HBP: Connor Hirtz 2

Pitches-Strikes: Logan Jenkins 24-14, Colton Petersmith 83-46, Connor Hirtz 58-35

Batters Faced: Logan Jenkins 5, Colton Petersmith 22, Connor Hirtz 17


St. Francis Borgia Knights

Lineup

Pos

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

L. Mallinckrodt

2B,SS

3

1

1

1

2

0

B. Nieder

3B

3

0

0

0

1

0

A Griffin

1B

5

0

2

1

0

0

O. Robinson

LF

4

0

0

0

1

3

E. Leesmann

CF

5

2

3

0

0

1

C. Chartrand

SS,P

5

1

1

0

0

1

E. Rondot

P,2B

4

1

1

0

1

2

Q. Nowak

RF

4

2

1

0

1

2

O. Tod

C

2

0

0

1

0

0

– G. Paubel

C

0

0

0

0

0

0

TEAM


35

7

9

3

6

7

2B: Ethan Leesmann

TB: Ethan Leesmann 4, Alex Griffin 2, Cash Chartrand 1, Ernie Rondot 1, Lane Mallinckrodt 1, Quinton Nowak 1

HBP: Ben Nieder, Griffin Paubel

SB: Ethan Leesmann, Lane Mallinckrodt

CS: Ben Nieder

E: Ethan Leesmann 2


Pitching

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

G. Schrader

3.0

4

4

4

2

1

E. Rondot

0.0

0

2

2

1

0

C. Chartrand

3.0

4

3

2

0

1

TEAM

6.0

8

9

7

3

2

HBP: Ernie Rondot 2, Gus Schrader 2

Pitches-Strikes: Cash Chartrand 35-21, Gus Schrader 56-30, Ernie Rondot 11-5

Batters Faced: Cash Chartrand 13, Gus Schrader 17, Ernie Rondot 3



The Scorebook: Rolla Bulldogs 6,  Union Wildcats 7



1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Union (6-3)

3

0

3

0

0

1

0

7

6

7

Rolla (6-1) 

0

1

1

1

0

3

0

6

8

2


Rolla Bulldogs

Lineup

Pos

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

C. Petersmith

CF

4

0

1

0

0

1

L. Richter

C,1B

3

0

0

0

1

1

J. Thomas

SS

4

1

1

0

0

0

C. Williams

DH,C

4

0

0

0

0

1

R. Snodgrass

3B,P

4

0

1

1

0

1

R. Covey

LF

3

1

0

0

0

0

B. Sbabo

P,2B,C,3B

4

1

1

0

0

1

L. Jenkins

1B

3

1

3

1

0

0

– Z. McWilliams

RF

1

1

0

0

0

0

C. Hudson

RF,2B

3

1

1

0

0

1

TEAM


33

6

8

2

1

6

TB: Logan Jenkins 3, Blaine Sbabo 1, Chase Hudson 1, Colton Petersmith 1, Jenson Thomas 1, Riker Snodgrass 1

HBP: Ruger Covey

SB: Colton Petersmith, Logan Jenkins

E: Jenson Thomas, Logan Jenkins


Pitching

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

B. Sbabo (L)

2.0

3

6

3

5

3

L. Brown

4.0

3

1

1

2

3

R. Snodgrass

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

TEAM

7.0

6

7

4

7

6

HBP: Landon Brown, Riker Snodgrass

Pitches-Strikes: Riker Snodgrass 11-6, Landon Brown 57-36, Blaine Sbabo 56-28

Batters Faced: Riker Snodgrass 4, Landon Brown 18, Blaine Sbabo 16


Union Wildcats

Lineup

Pos

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

B. Akins

SS

3

1

1

1

1

1

T. Purschke

RF

5

2

2

2

0

0

R. Stowe

LF

4

0

1

1

0

1

L. Hansel

1B

3

0

0

0

1

2

C. Schell

2B

3

2

2

1

1

0

A Young

CF

2

1

0

0

2

0

L. Calkins

3B

2

1

0

0

2

1

Blankenship

C

4

0

0

0

0

1

Z. Voss

P

4

0

0

0

0

1

TEAM


29

7

6

6

7

6

2B: Carter Schell

3B: Timothy Purschke

TB: Timothy Purschke 4, Carter Schell 3, Brody Akins 1, Ryan Stowe 1

HBP: Brody Akins, Zach Voss

SB: Ryan Stowe, Timothy Purschke

E: Brody Akins 3, Logan Hansel 2, Carter Schell, Logan Calkins


Pitching

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

Z. Voss (W)

5.2

8

6

0

1

5

T. Lemons

1.1

0

0

0

0

1

TEAM

7.0

8

6

0

1

6

HBP: Zach Voss

Pitches-Strikes: Zach Voss 105-72, Tucker Lemons 9-8

Batters Faced: Zach Voss 31, Tucker Lemons 4

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