PUEBLO • It had been quite some time since Evangelical Christian Academy had reached the penultimate weekend in high school baseball.

Seven years to be exact.

The Eagles aren’t expecting it to be that long again before they are back in the postseason.

No. 4 County Line held off No. 13 ECA 6-2 at the Runyon Sports Complex in Pueblo on Saturday to advance in the regional portion of the 2A state tournament and eliminate the Eagles.

ECA (16-6) led early and cut the Rivals’ lead to two in the top of the fifth, but County Line (18-2), comprised of Wiley and McClave, tacked on two runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

It was a far cry from when some of this year’s seniors had to start as freshmen because of low numbers and finished 6-12.

“To see them keep battling all the way through to the end of their four years,” coach Bob DeRuiter said, “and then keep improving each year and ultimately be here in the conversation with some of the better teams in the state, it’s great to see.”

It didn’t help that ECA’s Samuel Perkett was watching from the dugout — suspended after being ejected last week for saying an umpire’s call was “terrible.” The Eagles senior might have started on the mound, while his .645 average and 35 RBIs definitely would have been in the lineup.

“That leadership, obviously we’re missing that on the field,” DeRuiter said. “Also, too, just his talent. He’s hitting (.645) for us and leading pitcher. Both of those hurt, obviously, and I know it was tearing him up not to be out there.”

The Eagles managed five hits and played small ball when necessary. Caleb Klopfenstein scored both runs for ECA. He gave them a 1-0 lead when he reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and scored on a single.

Klopfenstein scored again when he singled, moved to second on a sac bunt, reached third on a single and scored on a sac fly.

“It was incredible, I don’t know if any of us knew this was going to happen before the year,” Klopfenstein said about the postseason run. “We did it for each other.”

Klopfenstein and Perkett are two of four Eagles who will graduate. They wanted to leave behind something for the younger guys to continue.

“With only having four seniors, it was our goal as seniors to be an influence on the younger guys, showing them what it means to be mental in baseball,” Perkett said. “The legacy that we really wanted to set was how hard work pays off, showing them what it means to really love one another, the team chemistry.”

With plenty of experience on the roster returning, the younger players, including sophomore starting pitcher Daniel Perry, are looking forward to getting another chance.

“It was a lot of fun,” Perry said. “(Gives us) a lot of confidence. Lot of great guys coming up. Hopefully we can come out on top next year.”