Pittsburg baseball was only six outs away from pulling off an upset Wednesday against No. 5-seeded Leavenworth in a Class 5A East regional semifinal at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

The Purple Dragons led 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth after breaking a scoreless tie with three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Leavenworth, who ended Pittsburg football’s season in the state playoffs, pushed across six runs in the bottom of the sixth and then recorded three outs in the seventh for the 6-4 win.

Beck Fern took the loss in a similar fashion as he did earlier this season against Girard, unable to get an out in his last inning pitched after such a strong outing during previous innings. Fern allowed six runs (all earned) on one hit with six strikeouts and six walks over five innings.

Fern walked the first two Leavenworth batters and then hit the third to load the bases with Pioneers and no outs. Frank Giamalva singled home the first run, Noah Davis and Fryman worked bases-loaded walks and Carter Prost greeted reliever Cole Hayden with a bases-clearing triple that closed out the scoring.

The Dragons opened the scoring with a three-run triple of their own. Landen Proffitt worked a walk, Alex Hinspeter singled and Kash O’Brien walked to load the bases with Dragons and one out. On the first pitch, Hayden lined a triple to center field, clearing the bases and breaking the stalemate.

Designated hitter Jason Owens led off the Dragon sixth with a walk and pinch runner Drake Wilcox scored on a Hinspeter single.

The Dragons finish their season 10-13.

Pittsburg 000 031 0 — 4 5 0

Leavenworth 000 006 x — 6 3 1

Beck Fern, Cole Hayden (6) and Max Busch; Pierce Gray, Mason Sheumaker (5), Noah Davis (6), Carter Prost (7) and Julian Simon. W: Davis. L: Fern. 3B—PHS: Hayden; LHS: Prost.

This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/