O'FALLON, MO.آ • Vianney baseball coach Scott Brown had a gut feeling.
A feeling that didn't sit too well with senior pitcher Noah Niznik.آ But the left-hander kept his focus and went with the flow.
Brown decided to start senior Mitchell O'Dekirk, the Golden Griffins' No. 3 pitcher all season, in the Class 5 state championship game Friday against Columbia Hickman.
Niznik, who was 7-0 and held down the No. 2 spot, was sure he would get the nod.آ
"He was a little upset that he didn't get the start," Vianney senior catcher Andrew Keck said. "I think that gave him some fire."
Niznik entered the game in the third and turned in 4 1-3 innings of near-perfect relief to help Vianney to an 8-2 win in the title tilt at CarShield Field.
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Vianney (37-2) won its final 13 games and set a school record for most victories in a season.
The Golden Griffins claimed their third state title to go with championships in 2004 and 2006. They were making their eighth final four appearance and coming off a third-place finish last season.
Niznik, in only his second relief outing in 12 appearances this season, surrendered just two hits. He struck out four and only allowed three runners to reach base. He retired the last seven batters he faced.
"It motivated me a little bit," Niznik said of not starting the contest. "This morning at (batting practice), Coach Brown told me, the way (Hickman) attacks the ball, we're going to go with O'Dekirk to start. That's the way the game is. Things aren't always going to go your wayآ — you've just got to keep on going."
Niznik entered the contest with a 4-2 lead. He did not allow the Kewpies even a hint of a rally
"He mixed up his pitches, he located the ball well," said Hickman senior Cameron Chick, who had two hits including a fourth-inning single off Niznik. "He kind of took us off guard."
O'Dekirk settled down after giving up two runs in the top of the first. But when he walked back-to-back batters with one out in the third, Brown signaled for Niznik.
"Noah hasn't quite been himself," Brown said. "But I think he had more of an attitude today."
The Golden Griffins pounded out nine hits over the first four innings and scored eight times to take control.
The top three hitters in the orderآ — Nico Hagen, Keck and Luke Mannآ — each scored twice. The next threeآ — Anthony Altobella, C.J. Cepicky and Dominic Moroآ — drove in two runs each.
"All year we've been focusing on that team aspect," Mann said. "Everyone knows their role and everyone knows their job."
Vianney erased the early two-run deficit with three runs in the bottom of the first off Hickman left-hander Jake Deakins. Hagen and Keck singled and Mann was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Altobella cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly to center. Moro followed with the biggest hit of the steamy afternoonآ — a two-run double that put Vianney ahead for good 3-2.
Freshman Brock Daniels doubled the lead with a long second-inning home run over the 30-foot big dog wall in right.
Vianney pushed across four runs in the fourth to put the game away. Keck had a key RBI double and Altobella added his second sacrifice fly of the day. Cepicky's two-run single to left was more than enough for Niznik.
Brown put senior Brendan May on the mound to record the last out of the game.
The championship win helped erase last year's third-place effort. The Golden Griffins sailed into the final four with plenty of momentum and the tag of team to beat. But they lost to Fort Zumwalt West in the semifinals before beating Lee's Summit for third place.
"We remember what it felt like to lose that final four game," said Mann, the staff ace who has signed with Mizzou. "We told ourselves that wasn't going to happen this year. And it didn't."
Keck didn't mind waiting a year to celebrate.
"This has been an awesome ride," Keck said. "I can't wait to soak it all in."