By Brennen Rupp

Marshall Independent

MILROY – The Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove baseball team is loaded with seniors.

The Falcons have 11 seniors on the roster and that senior experience was on display during their 5-2 victory against Wabasso in the Section 3A Championship on Thursday night at Irish Yard. With the victory the Falcons will be participating in their first state tournament in program history.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” RRC/WWG coach Derrick Jenniges said. “Not just for them, but for their families and for the schools. They put in a lot of time. Everybody on the team had a small role today. Everybody accepted that role. It’s a true team.”

The Rabbits struck first in the top of the second inning by scoring two runs. The pair of runs came off the bat of CJ Theis when he hit a two-run single to fire the opening shot.

The Falcons (23-3) got cooking in the bottom of the third inning with two runs of their own. With two outs in the inning, senior Corey Maras hit an RBI single to drive in RRC/WWG’s first run of the game. Maras was able to advance to second due to a Wabasso error. The next batter, Trevor Pederson followed suit with an RBI double to tie the game.

For the second-straight inning the Falcons scored two runs and did their damage with two outs to take a 4-2 lead. This time around it was senior Cole Pankonin driving in a pair of runs. Jenniges said the seniors showed their poise at the plate with two outs.

“It was seniors getting hits,” Jenniges said. “That’s what we expect them to do and that’s what they’ve done all year. We are thankful to have another opportunity.”

With the lead, RRC/WWG starting pitcher Taylor Bunting went into cruise control. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and two runs while striking out seven batters.

Despite the loss, Wabasso coach Chad Olson was pleased with the way his team fought to the final out.

“We battled,” Olson said. “I was real happy with the way our kids battled. They were able to take advantage of our errors and we didn’t take advantage of their mistakes. That was a big difference in the game. It was just tough for us to get our heads back. A big credit to them and their pitcher, Taylor Bunting.”

Wabasso’s starting pitcher Devan Liebl was equally as impressive. After pitching on Tuesday to help get the Rabbits into the section championship game, the senior lefty pitched six solid innings.

“We had some great leadership,” Olson said. “The four seniors, Nick Ludwig, Tyson Doubler, CJ Theis and Devan Liebl provided great leadership. Liebl was a horse for us. He did an incredible job after throwing 60 pitches on Tuesday. Then to come out here and pitch a complete game. He kept us in it today.”

With the win the Falcons extended their winning streak to 16 games and have defeated the Rabbits three times this season. Jenniges said the Falcons needed a little luck to help get past the Rabbits for a third time.

“It was important for us just to get the guys on base, especially when we got behind 2-0,” Jenniges said. “We didn’t really have a clean inning all game. There seemed to be pressure on our defense all game long. We were able to take advantage of some situations. We had a little luck. The ball basically bounced off the cement. If it’s over just another 6 inches the run scores and they take the lead.”

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Wabasso 020 000 0 — 2 6 2

RRC/WWG 002 210 x — 5 10 2

HITTING: Wabasso (Theis 2-4; Plaetz 1-3; Kemp 1-4; Liebl 1-2; Jacobson 1-3); RRC/WWG (Bunting 1-3; Pankonin 2-2; Maras 1-3; Pederson 2-3; Jackson 2-3; Blomgren 1-3).

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): Wabasso (Liebl 6-10-5-5-2-4); RRC/WWG (Bunting 6.2-6-2-2-5-7).