With nine hits, three off the bat of slugger Nolan Drill, and a solid eight innings from starting left-hander Jackson Bode, the Cubs took down the Pine Island Pioneers 6-3 at Veterans Memorial Field.

The Cubs will next take on the Pierz Lakers in the second round of the state tournament at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, in Brownton. Pierz defeated the Mora Blue Devils 2-1 on Saturday night to advance to the second round.

In addition to Drill, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI, the Cubs also saw Maddox Mortensen turn in a solid day at the plateas he went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Evan Wiltscheck also was 2 for 4 for the Cubs, while Bode and Teddy Giefer each had a double.

Bode finished his eight innings on the mound throwing 111 pitches, 77 strikes. He allowed five hits and a walk for three earned runs while striking out eight.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau The Courtland Cubs’ Nolan Drill connects on one of his three hits during a Class C state amateur baseball tournament game against Pine Island on Sunday at Veterans Memorial Field in Hutchinson.

Searles draftee Mark Schommer pitched a shutout ninth for the Cubs to get the save, striking out two without allowing any runners on.

Pine Island was led by Keegan Majerus, who went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the eighth.

Brandon Week got the start on the mound for the Pioneers and went six innings, allowing seven hits and two walks for four runs, one earned, while striking out one. Keegan Majerus pitched two innings in relief, allowing two hits and no walks for two runs, one earned, while striking out one.

The Pioneers were the first to get on the board in the fourth. Jerry Fletcher led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. Another groundout had two outs in the inning and brought up Graham Majerus, who ended up reaching on an errant throw to first, allowing Fletcher to score for a 1-0 lead.

Not giving the Pioneers much time to celebrate, the Cubs answered in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, a Drill single and a Giefer double gave Mason Cox a chance to tie it up with some solid contact. Cox got that solid contact with a sac fly into right to score Drill from third to make it a 1-1 game.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Cubs started with a leadoff single from Wiltscheck, who was bunted to second by Teagan Kamm. No outs came off that sacrifice attempt as an errant throw from the pitcher allowed Wiltscheck to take third and Kamm to reach second.

The Cubs ran into trouble soon after, though, when another bunt attempt, this time by Cade Bushard, was popped up near the mound to Week. Week caught it and quickly turned two with a throw back to third to get a racing-for-home Wiltscheck out.

Bode wasn’t going to let the inning end without a run for the Cubs, however, and he doubled to left-center field to score Kamm for a 2-1 Cubs lead. Mortensen doubled down the line in right to score Bode and a single by Drill allowed Mortensen to slide into home head first for a 4-1 lead.

The Cubs got the 1-2 punch of Mortensen and Drill to work again in the bottom of the seventh. Mortensen singled with one out to bring up Drill, who moved him to third with a single of his own. A Giefer sac fly to center field scored Mortensen before Cox reached on an error to score Drill for a 6-1 lead.

Keegan Majerus’s two-run homer to left in the eighth gave the Pioneers a little adrenaline boost, but Bode got back-to-back groundouts to end the inning. Schommer later slammed the door on the Pioneers in the ninth.