-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Blake Bartlett of St. Edmond fields a grounder against AGWSR on Tuesday at Rogers Park

There was no quit in the St. Edmond baseball team here Monday night at Rogers Park.

Unfortunately, the deficit was too much for the Gaels to overcome, as AGWSR survived a valiant rally to advance in Class 1A district play, 6-5.

The Cougars (14-12 overall) will now meet Ankeny Christian Academy (27-5) on Saturday in a district final in Alleman. The winner faces either defending state champion Saint Ansgar (23-3) or North Butler (14-7) in the substate final on Tuesday, July 14.

For the Gaels, they bow out with a 13-12 record, the first winning season for the program since 2020.

“We got punched early and didn’t have anything to punch back with, which was fine,” SEHS head coach Jordan Miller said. “But we showed every bit of fight in that seventh that you could. And we were essentially one base hit away from a really interesting time.

“I can’t say enough about the fight in these guys.”

Down 6-0 and with just three outs to play with, St. Edmond went to work. Senior Jack McElroy delivered a two-RBI single that scored classmate Grant Galles and freshman Blake Bartlett.

Julian Blanco, another ninth-grader, followed with an RBI-single that brought in Coltin Fevold to make it 6-3. McElroy would score on a wild pitch and Evan Calvert came around on another wild pitch to make it 6-5.

But freshman Lane Olson was able to secure the win with a grounder after pitching the final two innings.

“We talk about BIP, which is balls in play,” Miller said. “We didn’t do enough of that. Now, credit to their pitching staff, as they had three good arms that they threw at us. But we just needed to put the ball in play more and make them handle it.”

Olson, Clay Buseman and Tristen Dennis combined to record 13 strikeouts on the mound. St. Edmond also left 10 runners on base, including six in scoring position.

Bartlett got the start, going the first four with five strikeouts and no earned runs allowed on five hits. He surpassed 100 career strikeouts in a Gael uniform on the night, as he was hit twice at the plate and walked in his other two appearances.

McElroy finished with two hits and two RBI, scoring a run, as he played his final game alongside seniors Galles, Kinnick Henning, Max Webster, Jackson Calvert, Ethan Swisher and Carson Bargfrede.

“That group left it all out there,” Miller said. “They have been special in multiple sports for our school and I think that’s the legacy that they leave behind.”

AGWSR 6, ST. EDMOND 5

AGWSR 310 000 2 — 6 7 1

St. Edmond 000 000 5 — 5 5 5

WP–Clay Buseman (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB). LP–Blake Bartlett (4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB).

2B–AGWSR: Tristen Dennis. RBI–AGWSR: Bo Starr, Landen Dennis (3), Remington Kerns, Brayden Scallon; SE: Jack McElroy (2), Julian Blanco. SB–AGWSR: Kaseyn Scallon; SE: Grant Galles.