BASEBALL: West shines on mound, at plate as Verdigris sweeps opening day of regional

Mac West did a little bit of everything Wednesday, and Verdigris is one win away from a regional title because of it.

The Cardinals’ standout delivered brilliance both on the mound and at the plate, throwing a no-hitter in the opener and collecting 3 hits in the second game as Verdigris swept its first two games of Class 4A Regional 13 at home to advance to Thursday’s title game.

The Cardinals [25-8] will play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Bristow and Poteau with a trip to the super regionals on the line. Should they lose that game, they will play again at 2 p.m. Friday in a winner-takes-all situation.

GAME 1: VERDIGRIS 9, CLEVELAND 0

West made sure there was never any drama in the opener.

The left-hander tossed a complete-game no-hitter, striking out 12 and allowing only a lone baserunner via walk as Verdigris cruised past Cleveland 9-0.

At the plate, Lincoln Butler drove in 3 runs, while Boston Acosta and Ethan Hushbeck each had 2 hits. The Cardinals also showed patience with 9 walks and aggressive baserunning with 5 stolen bases, all while playing error-free defense.

Verdigris broke through in the second.

After Acosta doubled and two batters were hit to load the bases, Butler drew a walk to force in the game’s first run for a 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals extended the lead in the third when Ian Lane reached on an error and moved to third before Acosta laid down a bunt single to score him, making it 2-0.

Heath Hutichison followed with a walk to bring home another run, and Butler was hit by a pitch to force in a third run of the inning, stretching the lead to 4-0.

Verdigris added on in the fourth.

After Lane singled and stole second and Hushbeck reached, Acosta drove in a run on a groundout to make it 5-0. Butler was hit by another pitch with the bases loaded to score a run, and Korbin Ballinger followed with another hit-by-pitch that brought in a run, pushing the lead to 7-0.

The Cardinals continued to capitalize in the fifth when after Hushbeck reached and advanced to third, Acosta reached on an error that allowed another run to score, extending the lead to 8-0.

Verdigris capped the scoring in the sixth after a walk and a series of passed balls and errors brought a run home to make it 9-0.

From there, West finished what he started, inducing a flyout for the final out to complete the no-hitter and send the Cardinals into the winner’s bracket.

GAME 2: VERDIGRIS 10, BRISTOW 0

Verdigris carried that momentum straight into Game 2 and never let up.

West again led the way offensively, going 3-for-3 with a double and 2 singles, while Hushbeck added 3 hits and 3 RBIs. Boston Acosta earned the win on the mound, throwing 6 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit.

The Cardinals struck first in the opening inning when Lane walked, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on another passed ball to give Verdigris a 1-0 lead.