"Before the hit I was thinking ‘Oh my god, can I do this?’" said Fritchey, who went 2 for 4 with two RBI and scored a run. "After the hit I was like ‘I’ve done it.’ The pitch was low and outside, but I took it to the right side. I’m glad I could do it for the team. I don’t think anything could match what happened today."

Down 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Iberia came out swinging.

Iberia responded by scoring four in the fifth inning and two in the sixth to tie the game at 6. Then Fritchey hit the game winner to right field in the bottom of the seventh to score Ed Dugan, who was immediately swarmed by his Iberia teammates.

You can call Iberia the comeback kids. The Rangers (23-2) have now won four straight games in which they have trailed, starting with the District 13 championship where they trailed Blair Oaks by five and eventually won 11-9. They outslugged No. 1 ranked Southern Boone 13-10, and defeated St. Pius X 4-2 in comeback wins.

The latest victim was a strong John Burroughs (19-5) team led by shortstop A.J. Van Slyke, son of former major league star Andy Van Slyke, who went 2 for 4 and had three RBI, and 6-foot-7 southpaw pitcher John Sternberg, who fared well before being rocked in the fifth inning.

● Clearwater 5, Hollister 2: In the first semifinal, Clearwater (19-8) pitcher Jamie McAlister dominated Hollister (18-7).

McAlister (6-3) mixed his fastball, which reached upwards of 87 mph, a curveball and a change up to frustrate Hollister. McAlister, who struck out seven, came off of only three days of rest and struggled in the sixth inning, allowing two runs. But he sealed the game by striking out two in the bottom of the seventh.

"I didn’t mind coming back so soon," said McAlister, a 6-foot-3 senior. "I wanted to help us get to the championship. I didn’t have my dominating stuff, but I had enough to win. That’s all that I worried about."