After scoring three in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game, Francis Howell North had trouble getting scoring opportunities with Oak Park reliever Adam Clay dominating on the mound.

The Knights finally caught a break when Clay overthrew first on a pickoff attempt, allowing David Chaney to advance to second with one out and setting the stage for No. 8 batter Sean Turner to become the hero.

The junior did not falter as he hit a knee-high fastball to right-centerfield for the game-winning RBI in the 5-4 extra inning victory for the Knights in a 4A baseball semifinal.

Chaney almost had trouble stepping onto home plate as a sea of black jerseys flooded Simmons Field in jubilation.

"This feels great!" Turner said following his clutch hit. "I never had a game winner before. It feels great knowing I can help out the seniors get to the state finals."

The Knights (24-6) of St. Charles will play Joplin in today’s 4A championship. Joplin blanked Eureka 4-0 in the first game.

Oak Park (20-8) of Kansas City took a lead in the fourth inning when Jason Tischer had a two-RBI single. The Northmen built a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth when Justin Sutton hit a mammoth two-run homer that nailed the scoreboard at Taylor Stadium.

Francis Howell, which scored in the opening inning, had been silent with only one man in scoring position.

To make matters worst Knight relief pitcher Brad Bumpus was struggling with his control. The 6-foot-4 right hander walked the first man he faced and hit the next two batters to load the bases with one out in the seventh before regaining his composure to strike out Sutton and Tischer, who was 3 for 3 up until that point.

Coach Bob Dunahue had pitchers warming up in the bullpen when Bumpus began to flounder, but decided to stick with his top reliever. Dunahue’s decision paid off as Bumpus allowed just two hits the rest of the way.

"He had a nasty slider and that got most of us off balance," Oak Park catcher Jeremy McIntyre said. "It seems like we got lax and they blew up on us in the sixth inning. After the home run we were on cloud nine and right after that we came back right back down when we gave it back up in the bottom of the sixth. They deserved the win. They stayed in and we didn’t."

 Joplin 4, Eureka 0: Jason Sullivan gave up eight walks in six innings of work but managed to shut out Eureka on one hit.

Eureka (16-11-1) of St. Louis had numerous scoring opportunities, stranding five runners in scoring position. The biggest chance came in the sixth inning when Eureka had the bases loaded with one out, but Mike Arway hit into a double play to end the threat.

Sullivan walked two batters to begin the seventh inning before being relieved by Josh Tupper, who preserved the win for the Eagles (21-10).

"I didn’t feel like my location was exactly there but the defense was there to back me up," Sullivan said. "I wanted to complete this game. That’s what every pitcher wants to do — complete a one-hit shutout. But we still got the win and we’re going to the state championship."