The Winona Christian School Stars wrapped up the Division 2-AA baseball championship, despite splitting a pair of games with Oak Hill.
The Stars beat Oak Hill 5-4 on Tuesday but fell 11-10 to the Raiders on Friday, throwing the two teams in a tie atop the 2-AA standings.
Winona coach Shannon Self said the Stars own the tiebreaker with Oak Hill by allowing the fewest runs in division play, making them the division champions.
The Stars are now 8-4 on the season and 6-1 in division play. The Stars will host Manchester on Tuesday and travel to Benton on Thursday. On Friday, WCS will host Jackson Victors in a 6 p.m. varsity only contest.
The Class AA playoffs will begin on Tuesday, May 1 as the Stars will travel to Manchester for a 5 p.m. contest. Games 2 and a possible Game 3 would be Thursday, May 3 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Winona Christian 5, Oak Hill 4
The Stars held off a late rally by the Raiders to take a one-run win on Tuesday in West Point.
After a scoreless first inning, Winona Christian scored two runs in the second inning and one in the fourth to hold a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning. West Point finally scratched a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-1 heading into the seventh. Winona added two much-needed insurance runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-1 lead. Those runs proved vital as Oak Hill scored three in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Winona Christian had just three hits on the day but took advantage of four errors, four walks and four hit batters. Austin Huggins was 2-for-2 with a double while Wyatt Chambley had a single and drove in one run and scored once. Dalton Wiggins and Thomas Costilow each scored once while Treyton Whitten scored twice.
Huggins got the start on the mound and pitched six innings as he gave up two runs on three walks without giving up a hit while striking out 12. Whitten pitched the final inning and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three.
Oak Hill 11, Winona Christian 10
The Stars suffered their first division loss of the season with a one-run setback against the Raiders on Friday, snapping a seven-game winning streak.
Oak Hill opened with five runs in the top of the first before Winona answered with one in the first, two in the second and four in the third to take a 7-6 lead after three innings. After a scoreless fourth, Oak Hill went back ahead with four runs in the top of the fifth and added a single run in the sixth for an 11-7 lead. Winona scored three in the bottom of the sixth but their comeback effort fell short.
Winona outhit Oak Hill 9-7 but gave up five errors, seven walks and seven hit batters.
Blake Marlow led Winona at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double. Austin Huggins was 2-for-3 with a double while Wyatt Chambley and Treyton Whitten were each 2-for-44 with a run scored and one RBI. Shaw Ferguson also scored twice for the Stars.
Blake Marlow got the start and gave up eight runs, only four earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out four. Whitten pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five.
