PITT 8 BASEBALL: Stuart edges Kiowa for 2024 Pitt 8 championship title

Apr. 6—STUART — With fans on the edge of their seats, one swing changed the momentum of the game.

Stuart and Kiowa faced off Saturday in the 2024 Pitt 8 Conference Baseball Tournament finals at Stuart, where the Hornets held off the Cowboys 2-1 to be named conference champions.

Hornet coach Josh Williams said the weather conditions and level of talent meant it was going to be a hard fought battle to the finish.

"We knew coming into this, timely hits were going to win this one with with wind blowing in and two good pitchers," he said. "So we knew one big play was going to win it, and that was tricky."

That play came in the fourth inning, where Trenton Wimberly hit a line-hugging, far-flying ball to the left field corner for an RBI triple — scoring the winning run for the Hornets. That was paired with Nolan Stewart's efforts on the mound to help seal away the championship win.

"It was a big hit," Williams said. "A big play, and then a couple of big pitches in the seventh inning to shut it down. So it was a good team effort."

And Williams applauded the efforts of the Cowboys, and said he has so much admiration and respect for the opposing players and coaches.

"That's two top-five teams playing; two state tournament teams," he said. "It's great for the Pitt 8."

Kiowa struck first to start the game, with a textbook sacrifice bunt from Hunter Boatright giving the Cowboys the early lead.

Stuart answered in the bottom of the second inning, with a Bartlett Patterson sacrifice fly ball to right evening up the score for the Hornets.

From there, it was a pitching and defensive dual between Stewart and Kiowa's Shooter Boatright. The pair of pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts on the day, and allowed only single-digit hits and two combined walks for their opponents.

It would all come down to the fourth-inning play by Wimberly, with the Hornets finding that edge to take the win.

Wimberly went 3-3 on the day with the go-ahead RBI to lead the game at the plate for Stuart, while Hunter Boatright's sacrifice RBI led the Cowboys.

But there was plenty of action that won't necessarily ink into the stat sheet, leading to the tooth-and-nail fight to the finish.

"That was like a Friday state tournament semifinal game," Williams said. "Hopefully we'll both be playing on that day."

But before the Hornets can think about the state tournament, they have to finish out a regular season that includes more stiff competition in the Stonewall Tournament. And Williams said there's still plenty of room to grow for his team.

"I'm happy with our pitching rotation right now. We've got three guys that can throw it, and I'm excited about that," Williams said. "I'd like to see our hitting improve. And the Stonewall Tournament is just as good as the state tournament."

CROWDER 8, SAVANNA 0 (Third place)

The Demons turned up the heat, and left no doubt.

Crowder and Savanna faced off in Saturday's third-place game at the 2024 Pitt 8 Conference Baseball Tournament, with the Demons taking the 8-0 win.

EJ Crow got Crowder on the board first in the bottom of the opening inning, stealing home to open the scoring. TJ Cook followed with a high-flying ball to center for an RBI, and later scored himself on a wild pitch to give the Demons the 3-0 lead.

Defensive efforts from both teams took hold of the game until the bottom of the fourth inning, with Crow once again making his way home on a passed ball to extend the lead. Jeffrie Byington later hit a ground ball up the middle, scoring another run as Crowder led 5-0 after four innings.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Johnathan Lizik used a bunt to give the Demons another opportunity to score and extend the lead to six. And in the bottom of the sixth inning, Crowder used an RBI single from River Fields and Tristan Hubbard taking home plate to seal away the win.

Lizik, Cook, and Byington totaled up three RBIs on the day, while Kollin Davis got the win on the mound, striking out eight.

INDIANOLA 8, CANADIAN 0 (Consolation championship)

The Warriors weren't letting anything stand in their way.

Indianola and Canadian battled in Saturday's Pitt 8 Conference Baseball Tournament consolation final, where the Warriors earned the 8-0 win to be named consolation champions.

Ford Peterson put Indianola on the board in the bottom of the opening inning with an RBI single, and Alex Whitlock followed with a double line drive to score another on the way to a 2-0 lead.

Defense dominated the second inning, but the Warriors found a groove in the bottom of the third. Wyatt Klein send a high-flying ball into play that scored two more runs, giving Indianola the 4-0 lead after three innings.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Peterson once again put a ball on the ground, giving opportunity for Jimmy Beams to score. Whitlock followed with an RBI double, extending the lead out to six. The Warriors then loaded up the bases before earning another pair of runs, taking an 8-0 lead into the fifth inning.

Indianola then battened down the hatches defensively, locking up the game and the win.

Peterson, Whitlock, and Klein led the way with a combined six of the seven team RBIs. Peterson also got the win on the mound, striking out eleven in the appearance.

Here is the complete 2024 Pitt 8 Conference Baseball Tournament bracket:

THURSDAY

G1: Stuart, bye

G2: Savanna 17, Indianola 13

G3: Crowder 11, Canadian 1

G4: Kiowa 16, Haileyville 0

FRIDAY

G5: Indainola, bye

G6: Canadian 13, Haileyville 1

G7: Stuart 8, Savanna 0

G8: Kiowa 14, Crowder 7

SATURDAY

G9: Indianola 8, Canadian 0 (Consolation championship)

G10: Crowder 8, Savanna 0 (Third place)

G11: Stuart 2, Kiowa 1 (Championship)