Make no mistake about it, the Independence Eagles are the 2009 District 11-AAA Champions! The past couple of seasons the Eagles have played well but for some reason seem to exit the playoffs a little too early. Tired of such early exits, Independence stuck around until the final game this time. For the Eagles, it would be Matt Daffin scoring on Overton's third baseman Kirk Cathey’s fielding error in the eighth inning, Overton's sixth of the game, giving Independence its first District 11-AAA title with a 7-6 win over host Overton.

“We’ve been put out early the last three years I’ve been here,” said Eagles second baseman Dane Owen, who hit a solo homer in the second. “We proved we could do it..."

It was the 11th consecutive win for the second-seeded Eagles (25-8), who split two games with the top-seeded Bobcats (27-9) during the regular season. Independence took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Overton tied it up on Cole Patterson’s three-run homer. “I was mad the whole game and I was just looking for a pitch to hit,” Patterson said. “I found it and I just swung as hard as I could.” Independence will play host to Hunters Lane, McGavock or Antioch in a Region 6-AAA semifinal on Monday and Overton will visit one of those teams. “Earlier in April we were struggling because we were just so tight,” Eagles Coach Bill Moore said. “I think we’ve gotten back to let’s just play the game and let the game come to us. We’re getting back to having fun.” Independence took a 4-0 lead in the first inning by scoring one run on Josh Lee’s groundout, one on shortstop Mookie Betts’ throwing error and two on Tyler Castro’s single. “One through nine can swing the stick for Independence,” Bobcats Coach Mike Morrison said. “They’ve got pitching and they’re very deserving.” Overton narrowed the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the inning on Colt Norton’s RBI single. The Eagles increased their lead to 5-1 on Owen’s solo homer in the second.
Leadoff hitter Ty Stannard’s two-out single boosted Independence’s lead to 6-1 in the fourth.