Holt, Timberland Poised For Spring Postseason

The next three weeks will feature postseason competition across each of the spring sports. Here is a preview and quick-hit look at where Holt and Timberland will be playing over the next several days:

District Baseball

Class 4 District 9 at Timberland

Timberland is the No. 2 seed and the Wolves will bring a 15-10 record into its first-round showdown at 3 p.m. on Saturday against 7-seed Hannibal (7-12). Holt is 10-11 and will play No. 6-seed Warrenton (6-11) at 10 a.m.

If Timberland is to advance past its district, the Wolves will need production from senior David Masters, senior Devin Johnson and sophomore Shane Cooper. Masters finished the regular season batting .456 with 41 hits, 14 doubles and 30 runs batted in. He led the Wolves in each of those categories. Johnson is batting .434 and Cooper is hitting .396. Sophomore Ryan Bainbridge (.329) has 29 RBI.

For Holt, its fate also lies with a quartet of hitters. Conner Hales is batting a team-best .483 with 42 hits. Nate Giessmann is batting .448 with 12 doubles and 27 RBI, Nolan Fisher is hitting .443 with a team-best 29 RBI and Ben Snarr is hitting .408 with 28 RBI.

On the mound for the Indians, Hales is the team ace. He is 7-0 with a 3.45 ERA in a team-high 44 innings.

The district semifinals will be played on Tuesday afternoon.

District Girls Soccer

Class 3 District 8 at Troy Buchanan

Fifth-seeded Holt will battle No. 4 Fort Zumwalt North at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, while sixth-seeded Timberland (3-12) plays third-seeded Zumwalt South (10-11) at 4 p.m.

Holt is 7-15 and had back-to-back shutouts earlier this week, beating Northwest (on Monday) and Hazelwood Central (Wednesday), each by a 1-0 score. Holt has been led this season by Julie Ireland, who has eight goals.

Timberland has been plagued by its offensive struggles, scoring just five goals in the Wolves’ past 14 games.

If Holt wins, the Indians would next play at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the semifinals. If Timberland pulls the upset, the Wolves would play in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. The district championship match is slated for 5 p.m. on Thursday.

State Golf

The Class 4 state meet will be on Monday and Tuesday at Twin Oaks in Springfield, Mo. Competitors include Timberland's Zachary Cutler, Ryan Keller, Jackson Lane, Josh O'Hearn and Jonathan Roberson. For Holt, Corey Robertson and Jacob Spiegel will be contending.

(Have some local sports news, or story ideas? Please email Patch sports editor Brian Doolittle at briandoolittle@hotmail.com)