MANHATTAN, Kan. — Girard baseball will be playing in a state championship game for the first time in the history of the program when the Trojans take on No. 8 seed Silver Lake at 4 p.m. Friday from Tointon Family Stadium on the campus of Kansas State.

Pitching, defense and timely hitting led No. 7 Girard to a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 3 Burlington during a Class 3A state tournament semifinal Wednesday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

Bryor Schultz and Robbie Bruning combined to allow one run on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks over seven innings.

The Trojans worked their way through jams, including two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh. Bruning fielded a grounder that bounded off him and fired a throw to first baseman Ben Cullen to beat Maddux Cheever for the game's final out; Burlington argued that Cullen dropped the ball, but the out call on the field stood firm and Girard began celebrating its first-ever victory in a state baseball semifinal.

Bruning and Aiden Ashbacher each delivered RBI singles. Bruning plated Briggs Buckingham in the first and Ashbacher brought home Drake Smith in the third.

"Both of those guys pitched really well," Girard baseball coach Bob Fornelli said. "They're two of our best players, Robbie and Bryor. Bryor had a great day at the plate but didn't have a whole lot to show for it. He hit some balls hard. Robbie drove in the first run which was huge for us. So, really proud of our team. We've got to get some rest and come out ready to go Friday.

"I've coached a lot of games. I don't know if I've seen a game end like that. But I really do think he (Cullen) caught the ball and (Cheever) ran over him after the bag and the ball popped up. Baseball, sometimes you got to get a little lucky and we did today. They (umpires) didn't tell me. They weren't going to tell me anything. They just walked off the field and as soon as they walk off the field, we win and that's all that matters."

"Worked ahead in counts helped a lot getting out of jams," Schultz said. "Just staying calm and relaxed knowing that I can let them put the ball in play with a great defense behind me and let them work.

"That was a really close call. Maybe it could have gone either way, I don't know, could have been bad for us, could have been good for them. Either way, that was it."

In the sixth, Burlington's Aydan Winters roped one down the left-field line that headed toward the corner and would have scored Alex Mautz all the way from first base for a tie score and likely deposited Winters at third base. Schultz then struck out Winters looking for the second out and Bruning came on in relief to get Brayzdn Spring to fly out to right and retire the side.

Bruning worked his way out of the pickle in the seventh after he walked Kolten Robinson and Brody Garland.

"He worked really hard," Schultz said. "He found a way ... walked a few but found a way to win it though. It feels great. Hopefully, we'll make history. Stay hot, that's it."

Girard (23-5) reached the championship game after defeating No. 2 Jefferson West and No. 3 Burlington. Silver Lake (17-11) defeated No. 4 Russell/Victoria 2-1 in eight innings Wednesday and top-seeded Council Grove 1-0 on Monday.

"Get some rest and come out ready to go," Fornelli said. "We feel like we have Kam (Smith) ready to go. He'll throw some on Friday. We'll have every opportunity to come out and play good baseball.

"It's been amazing, but it wouldn't be amazing without the kids that we have. We have really good kids, guys that are great kids both on and off the field. They love the game and the coolest thing is they listen. Doesn't always mean that we're going to be successful, but they listen and they play hard and they learned a lot I think this year and I think we're only going to get better as the years come."

Girard 101 000 0 — 2 4 1

Burlington 100 000 0 — 1 5 0

Bryor Schultz, Robbie Bruning (6) and Blake Brokob; Kolten Robinson, Mason Collins (6) and Hunter Cole. W: Schultz. L: Robinson.

This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund