The Vienna High baseball team may have suffered its first loss of the season. But that setback came with state champion pedigree.

The Eagles split a pair of games last week, falling to defending Class 1 state champion St. Elizabeth 13-4 at Vienna City Park in Show-Me Central Conference play Monday, March 30. Vienna then bounced back to shut out Plato 8-0 on the road Thursday, April 2.

That left the Eagles with a 5-1 overall record and a 1-1 SMCC mark.

This week Vienna is slated to play at Sullivan Monday, host Calvary Lutheran Thursday (City Park, 5 p.m.) and compete in the WOW Wooden Bat Tournament in Odessa and St. Joseph Friday and Saturday. In the tourney the Eagles were to play in Odessa Friday and the rest of the event in St. Joseph, with times and opponents to be determined.

April 2 - Vienna 8, Plato 0: In a battle of the Eagles, Vienna seniors Troy Wulff and Reid Nichols shut Plato down on the mound. T. Wulff threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on two hits, two walks and striking out a sizzling 12. Nichols followed up with 2 ½ innings of shutout ball, allowing one hit and fanning four.

After a scoreless first inning it was all Vienna, which plated single runs in the top of the second, third and fifth innings then added three more in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Vienna outhit Plato 10-3 and took advantage of six Plato fielding errors.

T. Wulff also had a day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored while Evan Simmons also had three hits with two RBI and two runs scored; sophomore Wyatt Wulff two hits and two RBI; junior Mason Via a hit, RBI and run; Nichols a hit and RBI; junior Brett Welschmeyer an RBI and run scored, and junior Hunter Schwartze a run scored.

Vienna stole five total bases, with T. Wulff swiping two and Schwartze, junior Jaiden Hayes and Via one each.

March 30 - St. Elizabeth 13, Vienna 4: The St. Elizabeth Hornets have captured three Class 1 state titles the past four years and look to be a strong contender for another crown later this spring. St. Elizabeth improved to 5-3 overall, with the three losses coming to larger schools Camdenton and Blair Oaks and to small-school state power Iberia.

After each school scored a run in the first inning, the Hornets began to sting Vienna often, plating two runs in the top of the second inning, three in each of the fourth and fifth frames, one in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The Eagles got two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Each team had seven hits, but six fielding errors came back to haunt Vienna.

Nichols had two hits; Via a double and run scored; Welschmeyer a hit and RBI; Schwartze a hit and two runs scored; Simmons and Hayes a hit each, and freshman Paxton Jeremey a run. Schwartze and Hayes stole bases.

A trio of Eagle pitchers got their first varsity action on the mound this spring. Schwartze started and worked three innings while W. Wulff also threw three innings and senior Dylan Long finished up the final frame.