-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Connor Allison of St. Edmond leaps over Newell-Fonda RJ Rojas on Monday at Patterson Field

An early deficit and 11 walked batters proved too much to overcome for the St. Edmond baseball team here Monday.

The Gaels fell to West Marshall, 10-5, in the finals of the Patterson Field Tournament on Memorial Day. It was the first loss for St. Edmond in four games this season.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first and 6-0 after three, the Gaels (3-1 overall) fought back to make it a two-run game after six, but the Trojans (4-2) plated three more in the seventh to seal the deal.

Earlier in the day, St. Edmond defeated Newell-Fonda, 7-4, while West Marshall topped Garner-Hayfield/Ventura.

While the Gaels feature eight upperclassmen on the roster, in terms of varsity playing experience, they are still very green.

“We need our leaders to do a better job of getting us game-ready,” SEHS head coach Joe Shanks said. “We need to know how to get ready to play. It’s not just about being at the field.”

Jack McEvoy had a double and drove in two runs, while Sam Dougall and Cael Kolacia each had a double. Kolacia, an eighth-grader, drove in a run.

Nick Bennett had two steals and went 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Brant Reiling was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

“We’ve got things to work on,” Shanks said. “It’s early in the season and that’s kind of how we are playing. We’ll look good at times, but we haven’t really put it all together.”

McEvoy started, going three innings with five walks before Kolacia came in and pitched three-plus innings with five walks and three strikeouts.

“Jack’s still working on his consistency,” Shanks said. “I thought Cael came in and did a nice job. He got tired there at the end, but he looked good.”

In the fifth, St. Edmond plated a pair of runs to cut into the deficit, but they left runners on second and third to end it. In the sixth, two more SEHS runs came across, but they again left a runner in scoring position.

For West Marshall, Ross Randall had two hits and scored twice, Chandler Sponseller was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double, and eighth-grader Ryan Reyerson had two RBI and two hits.

In the win over Newell-Fonda, Cole Allison, Connor Allison, McEvoy, Jake Szalat and Reiling all had two hits each. Reiling drove in two runs and stole a base, while Connor Allison had a triple.

“We’ve got some real good speed at the top of the lineup now with the Allison boys and Bennett,” Shanks said. “They can really create for us.”

Nick O’Brien earned the win, pitching six-plus innings with eight strikeouts and six hits allowed.

The Mustangs (3-1) prevailed in the third place game, 12-2 over Garner-Hayfield/Ventura.

St. Edmond returns to North Central Conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Humboldt.

WEST MARSHALL 10, ST. EDMOND 5

West Marshall 303 010 3 — 10 10 0

St. Edmond 000 122 0 — 5 8 2

Ryan Reyerson (W, 1-0, 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB), Alex Dickey (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 K, 4 BB), Chandler Sponseller (1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB) and Alex Dickey, Josh Larsen; Jack McEvoy (L, 0-1, 3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 0 K, 5 BB), Cael Kolacia (3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 5 BB), Sam Dougall (2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 K, 1 BB) and Cael Kolacia, Jack McEvoy.

2B–WM: Ross Randall, Cody Mead, Ryan Reyerson; SE: Jack McEvoy, Cael Kolacia, Sam Dougall. RBI–WM: Ross Randall, David Disney, Chandler Sponseller (2), Parker Hulbert, Ryan Reyerson (2); SE: Cael Kolacia, Jack McEvoy (2), Brant Reiling. SB–WM: Ross Randall, Cameron Bannister, David Disney, Parker Hulbert; SE: Nick Bennett (2), Chris Baker.