Mission accomplished.
After wrapping up an unbeaten conference play head coach Arron Kimes reminded his team that the district tournament title had long eluded them and that the focus should be on winning the tournament and landing the accompanying one seed in the Class 3A Region 1 tournament next week.
Initially the tournament finals were set for today but the tournament used an accelerated pace to beat projected inclement weather and finished a day early.
It took a walk off two run home4) run from Rylen Ray in the semifinals to reach the finals, where there was almost no drama in a 9-0 win over Charleston as Jace Washburn (4-0) scattered six hits in a complete game.
Washburn, who made just his second start since being cleared from an injury, did have a few nervous moments in the first. After retiring the first two hitters, Washburn hit a man and allowed consecutive singles to fill the bases.
He got out of it by inducing a ground ball to Dylan Todd who tagged the runner coming from second.
That started a streak of nine of 10 Tigers being retired by Washburn. The lone hitter to reach singled but was erased on a 4-6-3 double play to end the third inning.
Washburn also participated in giving his team a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the opening inning. After Rhett Nietert (3-for-4) doubled to open the game, Dax Goff reached on an error and Rylen Ray (3-for-4) singled home a run Nietert and Ray reached third.
A squeeze bunt by Washburn made it 2-0.
In the second inning the Bearcats stretched the lead to 6-0. Casey Carter (2-for-3) singled with one down in the second and Nietert and Todd both singled with two down to make it 3-0.
That brought up Goff who unloaded on a pitch for his sixth home run of the season and 21st of his career to make it 6-0.
Matt O’Bar and Carter singled but were stranded in the Bearcat third and it stayed 6-0 until the sixth.
After the only walk Washburn allowed Charleston had two aboard with two out in the top of the fifth but a fly ball ended the inning.
The Tigers had consecutive singles to open the sixth but an infield fly, a fly ball and a strikeout stranded them.
Conner Lentz singled and stole his second base in the sixth and moved to third on a bunt single by Nietert. After Todd Walked to fill the bases Goff got one run with a fly ball and a double by Ray plated two more for a 9-0 lead.
Washburn struck out two, giving him six on the day, and retired the side in order in the seventh to complete his 83 pitch outing.
The Bearcats will be the one seed in the Class 3A Region 1 tournament which starts Thursday in Harrison. The opponent will be the fourth seeded team from the 3A-1 and the game will open the tournament at 10 a.m.
Before that, the Bearcats will host Perryville, a Class 3A Region 3 participant out of the 3A-5, on Monday at the Kiersey Complex.
WASHBURN THROWS SHUTOUT, BEARCATS WIN DISTRICT TITLE
