The South Callaway baseball team couldn’t complete its quest for a state crown, falling 3-1 to Licking in the MSHSAA Class 3 title game Thursday in Ozark.
The Bulldogs, who won the Class 3 title in 2016, gave up all three runs in the top of the second on just one hit off starter Jacob Martin. Two errors in the inning helped give Licking a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
South Callaway plated its run with two outs in the bottom of the fourth when Braden Allen’s single drove in Tucker Jones, who had singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Martin was the tough-luck loser, going the distance while giving up one earned run on three hits with two strikeouts, one walk and three hit batsmen.
The Bulldogs end the season with a record of 26-8.
Fulton (19-10) rallied to tie its Class 4 third-place game at 5 in the top of the sixth, but four singles in the bottom of the seventh gave Excelsior Springs a 6-5 win.
In the title game, John Burroughs beat Springfield Catholic 9-4.
