The No. 3 Bayfield High School baseball team began the 3A Region 3 championships with a tight 3-2 over No. 30 Bennett on Friday morning at BHS.
Bayfield took a 2-0 lead with three singles, two stolen bases and a wild pitch in the first inning. Lance Mazur and Caden Wood both scored for the Wolverines, with Jackson Queen driving in Wood.
Bennett responded with a run on two base hits in the top of the second.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth, as both teams flashed some leather in the field to leave runners stranded.
The Wolverines got a big insurance run in the sixth when Dante Candelaria doubled Tavian Box home.
Queen, meanwhile, threw a complete game to get the win on the mound against Bennett, retiring 11-straight from the third through sixth innings. The first two Tigers reached base to start the seventh and snap the streak, but Queen was able to work out of the jam. He struck out the next Tiger. A ground out in the next at bat brought in one run, but Queen got the next batter to ground out to Noah Chamblee at first base to lock the game up.
Bayfield will now play in the regional championship against the winner of No. 14 Lamar and No. 19 Strasburg on Saturday. Lamar and Strasburg started playing at noon on Friday and Lamar led 2-0 in the top of the second inning, but rain and lightning delays eventually postponed the remainder of the regional semifinal until Saturday morning. Game times will be determined in the morning based on field conditions.
Update: Lamar and Strasburg are scheduled to resume play at 8 a.m. Saturday in Ignacio at Ignacio High School’s artificial turf field. The championship game will return to Bayfield and is tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m.
