The Bushnell-Prairie City high school baseball team won its regional opener before seeing its season ended in semifinal round play.
On Monday, the No. 9 sub-sectional seeded Spartans used a pair of multiple run innings in edging No. 8 seed Knoxville 8-6 at Knoxville.
B-PC was out-hit 9-6, but the Spartans also took advantage of 10 walks issued by Knoxville pitching.
The Blue Bullets took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
Quinton Woodruff singled to right with one out. Courtesy runner Logan Bowker entered for Woodruff before Ethan Bailey followed with a single to center. Bowker scored when B-PC centerfielder Ryan Adler committed an error on the play.
B-PC evened the score in the top of the third when Dylan King reached second on an error by Knoxville leftfielder Tanner McGarry.
King advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring when Thomas Anderson singled to center, tying the contest.
Knoxville answered in the bottom of the inning.
Willie Lawal walked to open the frame before moving to second on a Hayden Warner sac bunt. Lawal scored when Bradley Cummings delivered a twoout single to center.
The Spartans took advantage of two walks and a hit batter to load the bases with one out in the top of the fourth.
Connor Palm delivered an RBI single that scored Ethan Hyde, tying the game at 2-2. Braxton Kempf scored on a passed ball with Miles Strode and Palm moving to third and second base respectively.
King struck out for the second out, but Anderson brought Strode and Palm home when he doubled to left, giving B-PC a 5-2 lead.
The Bullets tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, cutting B-PC’s lead to 5-4.
Knoxville took advantage of two hits and an error in the fourth before using two walks and a single to load the bases before Gavin Hawkinson lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Grant Lambert.
The Spartans scored three critical insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Anderson singled to open the inning before Adler, Alex Kohler and Landon Ferguson all walked, forcing home a run.
Ethan Hyde followed with a two-run single to right, scoring Adler and Kohler, giving B-PC an 8-4 lead.
Knoxville was not about to go down quietly though in its final at-bat.
Lambert tripled to right with one one before scoring when Cummings reached on an error by Adler in center. Cummings reached third on the play and scored when August Cramer grounded out to second.
Woodruff reached on an infield single, but Bailey hit into a fielder’s choice with Ferguson recording the final out at second to end the game.
Anderson had three hits, including a double, with three runs batted in for B-PC. Hyde also knocked in a pair of runs, while Palm added a hit and a run batted in, while Ferguson also knocked in a run for the Spartans.
Eight different players scored one run each for B-PC.
On the mound, Palm went the distance, allowing six runs, two earned, on nine hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Palm threw 111 pitches, 71 for strikes.
Lambert had two hits, including a triple, scoring twice for Knoxville (5-24-1). Woodruff added three hits, while Cummings and Bailey added two hits each.
Cummings, Cramer, Hawkinson and McGarry knocked in one run apiece.
Knoxville used three pitchers.
Bailey pitched four innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on three hits. He struck out four, walked four and hit two batters.
Hawkinson pitched twoplus innings, allowing three earned runs on one hit. He struck out two and walked five.
Cramer pitched one inning, allowing two hits and one walk, but no runs.
On Wednesday, the Spartans headed to Monmouth to face top-seed United in semifinal play with the Red Storm breezing to a 14-0 victory in five innings.
B-PC saw its season end with a final record of 3-28.
United scored three runs in the first inning before adding five runs in the second in building an 8-0 lead. The Red Storm then scored six runs in the fourth on the way to closing out the run-rule victory.
B-PC had just one hit, a single by Kohler with one out in the fifth.
The Spartans also committed five errors that led to nine unearned runs.
Kohler pitched 3.2 innings, allowing 13 runs, four earned, on 10 hits. He walked four and hit a batter.
Hyde recorded the final out in the fourth, allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks.
Ian Leffler had three hits, including a double for United with four runs batted in. Collin Leary added two hits and three RBIs, while Parker Scott also knocked in two runs for United.
Coen Sperry scored three runs, while Chance Stewart and Kellen Boone both had two hits and scored twice.
Leffler pitched four innings, striking out seven. Wyatt Stockdale pitched one inning, allowing one hit and one walk, striking out two.
United (28-5-2) awaited the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between No. 4 seed ROWVA/Williamsfield (22-12) and No. 5 seed Princeville (14-18).
The regional title contest is slated for Saturday at 11 a.m.
