MCDONALD COUNTY, Mo. — The McDonald County baseball team has made it to the Class 5 District 7 championship game which will be played Monday in Neosho at 6 p.m.

The top-seeded Mustangs defeated Ruskin 15-0 in the quarterfinals and Warrensburg 1-0 in the semifinals. Cross Dowd pitched 6.2 innings giving up only four hits against Warrensburg. McDonald County is now 20-8 on the season heading into the district championship game.

The Mustangs are in their first district title game in 22 years. They look to stay on a roll and earn a spot in the state tournament next week. The team is excited about being back in the district championship game after over two decades.

Cross Dowd said, “It hasn’t been done in a while and I think that’s been our goal this year, is get to the district title and really win the district title. It hasn’t been done since 2001 I believe. It was our head coach’s senior so, yeah it’s our plan to win it.”

Coach Heath Alumbaugh said, “I believe it’s been 22 years since we’ve been to the district championship in baseball. You know, our kids have worked hard to get to this point this year, they’re continuing to work hard, but it’s a big thing for our community, they follow our baseball program and want to see our kids be successful, so this is a great thing for our kids.”

Weston Gordon said, “It’ll mean a lot to go and win the district championship, it hasn’t been done in I think over twenty years. We’ve played together our whole lives and we have a good connection so, we hope to go out there and win.”