Salina Drive cruise into Kansas Grand Slam 16-under championship game with 10-0 shutout

The Salina Drive could not have asked for a better lead-in to their Kansas All-American Grand Slam championship game.

After barreling through Pool B with a 4-0 record the first two days, the Drive made quick work of the Salina Eagles in the 16-under division semifinals on Saturday, cruising to a four-inning, 10-0 victory at Dean Evans Stadium.

"This is the best we've ever been set up in a tournament," said Drive infielder Stocton Timbrook, who went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and two batted in against the Eagles. "We don't have a lot of high pitch counts.

"We feel we have a pretty good opportunity to win."

With only two of the Drive's five games going the distance, coach Darrin Sterrett has no pitching concerns heading into Sunday's 2:30 p.m. championship game against Pool A champion Topeka Stogies-Reynolds at Evans Stadium. The Stogies beat Pool B runner-up McPherson, 7-3, in their semifinal Saturday.

"We're set because of what we did in our pool," Sterrett said. "We have all of our top three pitchers ready."

Evan Bogart pitched the first four innings and Timbrook the last three in Thursday's 3-1 victory over McPherson. Gunnar Gross is a third option.

"Even if we have a kid not (pitching) well, we have three other dudes who can step up," Timbrook said.

Against the Eagles, Brady Howard went the distance on the mound, allowing just two hits in four shutout innings.

The Drive, who now have outscored their opponents 51-2 in the tournament, took control of the game with a six-run second inning. Gross and Timbrook started if off with base hits and Cole Webber reached safely to load the bases when the Eagles mishandled his sacrifice bunt.

That brought up Tony Moore, who blew it open with one swing, lining a triple to the gap in right center. Moore scored on a Cooper Ivey sacrifice fly and Evan Bogart drove in Maximus Maes with an RBI double, then scored on a wild pitch.

"I felt like (the triple) fired everyone up," said Moore, who also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to drive in four runs in his two plate appearances. "Everyone feeds off everybody else."

Moore, a preseason pickup from Hoisington High School, also helped preserve Howard's shutout with a defensive gem in the top of the third inning. The Eagles had loaded the bases with three straight one-out walks, only to come up empty when Moore fielded a ground ball from Jack Gordon at third, stepped on the base and fired to first for a double play.

"It came in kind of hot, but I fielded it and tripped on the base," Moore said with a smile. "I kind of laughed and then threw it over."

Howard also wiggled out of a jam with one out in the fourth inning when he hit Leon Rowe and Cole Gilpin, then gave up a single to James MacKinney, only to strike out the next two batters.

In addition to Timbrook and Moore, the Drive got two hits each from Bogart, Zach Miller and Gross. Gordon's one-out double in the first inning and MacKinney's single in the fourth were the only hits for the Eagles, who advanced to bracket play with a 2-1 record after picking up a forfeit Thursday.

Stogies eliminate McPherson

In Saturday's early semifinal, Jayden Holly threw a complete-game four hitter and also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and three RBIs to lead Topeka Stogies-Reynolds past McPherson.

The Stogies got one run in the second inning and three in the third, and after McPherson scored three in the top of the fifth, they answered with three of their own in the bottom half to regain control.

Brock Richardson's three-run double accounted for all of McPherson's runs.