Hagerstown’s Trent Weiss. Photo by Ryan Tincher.
CENTERVILLE, Ind. – The favorites for the Class 2A Centerville Sectional title have made it through the preliminary rounds.
“When you get into the tournament, the motto is survive and advance,” Hagerstown Head Coach Brad Catey said.
Hagerstown opened Thursday night’s action with a 13-6 victory over the host Bulldogs, while third-ranked Union County followed with a 13-1 win over Winchester.
“It’s how it should be,” Union County Head Coach Jeff Mathews said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun.”
The Tigers (22-3) and Patriots (25-3) with battle for the title at 7 p.m.
Union County won 5-3 when the two teams met in Liberty back on April 26.
On Thursday, the Tigers trailed 5-3 after the Bulldogs batted in the top of the third.
“They just hit the ball that inning,” Catey said of the Bulldogs. “(Cody) Swimm comes into the third inning with a no-hitter and then their first five at bats, they get five hits.”
The Tigers were finally able to answer in the bottom of the fifth as they erased a 6-4 Centerville advantage with six runs to take the lead for good.
Trent Weiss led the Tigers with three hits and three RBI.
Drew Pyle also drove in three runs with a pair of hits.
Swimm added a pair of RBI and Mason Hicks had two doubles.
Brady McMillan picked up the win in relief of Swimm and Noah Dale tossed the last inning.
“Three great outings by our pitchers and we put up enough runs to win,” Catey said. “I can’t wait until Monday.”
Brent Cones led the Bulldogs with two hits and two RBI.
Dalton Stevens and Dante Torres also had two hits.
Nolan Witte and Chris Pritchett had a hit and a RBI, while Brennen Kean also knocked in a run.
Union County’s Joey Weller
Game Two
Mathews delivered a message to his team prior to Thursday’s contest against the Golden Falcons.
“This is it,” he said. “The next time you lose will be the last time you will play on a baseball field at the high school level. That was enough to keep them focused enough to do what they needed to do.”
Mason Miller and Preston Scott both led the Patriots with four hits. Miller knocked in four runs and Scott had two RBI.
Cameron Donovan had a three-run double, while Nate Webb drove home two. Leighton Schulte and Noah Hartley both drove in runs.
Joey Weller worked four innings to get the win as Hartley and Miller also went to the mound for the Patriots.
For the Golden Falcons, Jacob Lahey and Tanner Steveson both had hits with Jordan Key scoring the run.
Centerville Sectional
Wednesday
Hagerstown 20, Lincoln 0
Centerville 14, Northeastern 2
Thursday
Hagerstown 13, Centerville 6
Union County 13, Winchester 1
Monday
Hagerstown (22-3) vs. Union County (25-3), Championship, 7 p.m.