Gopher Baseball Season Comes To An End

The Faith Christian Knights (26-3) erased a one run Green City lead with a five run second inning rally for an 8-3 win over Green City (17-8) in May 28, 2025 Class 1 Class 1 baseball quarterfinal action at Green City.

Max McMillen cashed in a four hit, two walk opportunity with a second inning grand slam home run over the center field fence. Green city walked five Knights during the contest. All five scored.

Green City seniors Ty Hall, Xander Salas, Tristin Harrison, Jaden O’Haver, Noah Tipton, Tucker Tipton, Thaydon Forrest and Preston Balfany played their final games for the Gophers.

The Gophers scored a single tally in the first inning. Thaydon Forrest led off the bottom half of inning one with a base hit. Tristin Harrison singled Forest home. Faith Christian centerfielder Caedmon Gibler threw a runner out at home plate for the final out of the opening inning.

Kansas City-Liberty, Mo based non public school Faith Christian Academy put their first three runners on base during the top of the second. Gopher starting pitcher Thaydon Forrest struck out two batters.

Sandwiched between was a game tying Eliott La France base hit. Max McMillen hammered a pitch well over the center field fence for a 5-1 lead after an inning and a half. Dalton Youngman threw a runner out stealing to end the inning.

Green City scored single runs in their second and third innings. Clancy Ballinger stroked a one out hit and scored on Noah Tipton’s sacrifice fly for a 5-2 deficit. Jaden O’Haver stroked a two out third inning single and scored on Tristin Harrison’s two out RBI hit.

Chase Newton delivered a two out RBI hit for the Knights for a 7-3 lead. Rhett Lair scored on a wild pitch in the Faith Christian seventh inning for an 8-3 margin.

Preston Balfany stroked a one out hit off Knights pitcher Sam Atkins for what proved to be the final hit of the day. Green city scored three runs on nine hits and three errors. Thaydon Forrest, Jaden O’Haver and Tristin Harrison had two Gopher hits each.

Thaydon Forrest pitched the first four innings striking out three of his 21 batters faced. Forrest walked five men on five hits. Ty Hall pitched the final three innings with five strikeouts in 12 batters faced. Hall walked two allowing one run off one hit.

Faith Christian Academy scored eight runs on six hits. Max McMillen had a home run and four runs batted in. Knights hurler Sam Akins went the distance on the hill, striking out six of 29 batters faced. Akins allowed three runs, two earned with no walks on nine hits.

“All through the post season the only team I feared was us,” Green City coach Dale Whitaker said. “Against Atlanta in the Sectionals we dd not beat ourselves. Unfortunately, we beat ourselves tonight.”

“We competed. We bounced back with a run in the bottom of the second inning. That one inning was too much to recover from,” Dale Whitaker said. “We forced it on ourselves. We had a missed bunt coverage. We grooved one to a kid who hit it 450 feet. It is what it is.”

“We played some amazing baseball to get here. I am super proud of these boys.”

Green City won seven straight district championships. “They are great young men,” Dale Whitacre said of his eight seniors. “It is up to those who follow them to do what they did for the program.”

“They weren’t all great when they were freshmen. They worked to get where they are now,” Coach Whitacre said. “They know they always came in and competed. They wanted to get better. They were part of the winningest baseball teams in the history of Green City.”

They had multiple state track qualifiers. It has been so much fun,” Dale Whitacre said. ”They are great guys. They will do amazing things in their lives.”