At 6:53 p.m. May 22, a dream ended for the Excelsior Springs varsity baseball program.A coaching tenure of 20-plus years ended, too.It was at that time that Benton of St. Joseph pitcher Chris Coy retired his last batter and handed Excelsior Springs a 6-0 loss. The defeat in the Class 4 District 15 title game at Excelsior Springs ended the Tigers’ bid for a fourth straight district title. The Tigers were Class 4 District 15 champions in 2022 and 2023, and snagged the Class 4 District 13 crown in 2024.Excelsior Springs had expected to face Benton in the postseason since March, when the Missouri State High School Activities Association released the assignments for districts, Tigers coach Aaron Holst said. The Tigers also expected to face Coy, who has signed to play at the University of Nebraska Omaha, an NCAA Division II school.To prepare for Coy, Holst and his ballclub attempted to see as many righthanded pitchers “that...