CHEROKEE, Kan. -- St. Mary’s Colgan took care of business on Wednesday, defeating Udall 10-0 in five innings and Sedan 15-0 in three innings to win the Class 2-1A baseball regional championship at the Southeast Sports Complex.
“It’s kind of the way we approach every game,” Panthers coach Mike Watt said. “We really can’t control what anybody does. We can’t control the weather. We just have to come out and be who we are.
“It took us a little while in Game 1. We had a slow start, but once we got rolling, we played very well in all aspects of the game.”
The Panthers (17-7), after winning their 36th regional crown in 40 seasons under Watt, will be the No. 7 seed in the state tournament and will play second-seeded Spearville (21-2) in a quarterfinal game on Monday at a site to be determined.
Jayden Brown picked up the victory in the first game, allowing three hits while striking out 11 and walking three in five innings.
Younger brother Gabe Brown notched the victory against Sedan, fanning eight and walking none in three innings. He threw 43 pitches, 30 for strikes. The Blue Devils only put two balls in play – Brian Hert’s two-out single to right field in the first inning and Mason Angell’s groundout to first to start the second inning.
“The Brown brothers were very good today,” Watt said. “J.B. battled and kept us in it while we struggled early. We didn’t score any runs for him, and he kept them off the board as well.
“Then in Game 2, Gabe came out and just filled up the strike zone. He was pretty efficient.”
Colgan and Udall were scoreless through three innings before the Panthers tallied two runs in the fourth and rapped seven hits while scoring eight runs in the fifth.
Brock Radell and Brady Crossland each had two hits for the Panthers, and Jayden Brown, Carston Simmons and Lane Stultz drove in two runs apiece.
Simmons had a triple, and Jayden and Gabe Brown both hit a double.
“Toward the end of the game, we started hitting the ball well, and it just carried over into Game 2,” Watt said. “That’s what we need to happen if we want to be successful in the state tournament.”
Anthony Schremmer drove in three runs against Sedan with a two-run double down the left-field line in the first inning and RBI double to left-center in the second.
Crossland hit a two-run double to right-center in the third after hitting a triple to center in the second. Brady Badart had two RBI with a single in the first inning and sacrifice fly in the second, and Radell drove in runs with a groundout in the first inning and single in the third.
Jayden Brown, who had two singles, and Crossland each scored three runs. Stultz had a double and two runs scored.
Udall 000 00 – 0 3 4
Colgan 000 28 – 10 9 1
Jace Harness, Logan Mason (5) and Toby Ponce; Jayden Brown and Carston Simmons. 2B—SMC: J.Brown, Gabe Brown. 3B—SMC: Simmons.
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Sedan 000 00 – 0 1 3
Colgan 456 – 15 10 0
Kohner Stout, Ethan Zimmerman (3) and Rance Gorby; Gabe Brown and Carston Simmons. 2B—SMC: Brady Crossland, Anthony Schremmer 2, Lane Stultz. 3B—SMC: Crossland.
