Portageville baseball advances to second consecutive Final Four with 8-4 win over West County in Class 3 Quarterfinals

West County vs Portageville
Published: May. 26, 2023 at 12:11 AM CDT

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. (KFVS) - Portageville has clinched back-to-back appearances in the State Semifinals.

Hosting the Class 3 State Quarterfinals on Thursday, the Bulldogs were buzzing early. Owen Roberts and Mason Adams sparked an offensive explosion for Portageville in the first inning on their way to a 6-0 lead.

After the Bulldogs added another run from a Carson Bradley RBI, West County scored twice in the fifth then twice again in the sixth to cut Portageville’s lead to 7-4.

Thomas Frakes brought the momentum back into Portageville’s dugout in the top of the seventh driving in Beau-Hunter Warren for another insurance run to make it 8-4.

Trey Benthal sealed the victory for Portageville recording a strikeout on the final pitch to finish a complete game.

“Back-to-back is crazy,” said Benthal, a senior. “We say Ozark after every practice. We wanted to go there the whole year. That was our goal.”

Portageville competed in Class 2 a year ago and finished as runner-up. The Bulldogs were moved up to Class 3 for 2023, but it hasn’t stopped them from their second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

The Bulldogs will play South Callaway on Wednesday, May 31 at 10 a.m. for a spot in the State Championship.