Buhler completes run to 4A-I baseball title

Buhler second baseman Ethan White camped under a pop up, watched the ball into his glove for the out, then tossed both 15 feet high into the air as the Crusaders won the program’s first baseball state title with an 8-3 win over Andover Central in the Class 4A-I championship game on Monday afternoon at Dean Evans Stadium.

The Crusaders had to wait two extra days to play in their first state tournament after play was postponed before their quarterfinal game on Thursday, then continued to Sunday and Monday. But the wait was well worth it for Buhler, who suffered through a winless season just six years ago.

“These kids are awesome, they’re so resilient and I love every single one of them,” Buhler coach John Neill said. “Every one of them are special, every single one of them had a say in this and I love them. Some of these guys played in the state football game a couple years ago and won that, so our first-ever trip here for baseball wasn’t a huge step up for our guys.”

Andover Central had a chance in the first to grab some early momentum, but courtesy runner Taylor Williams was called out after crossing the plate and not having touched third base.

Buhler (20-5) grabbed two runs in the the second on three hits, including two bunt singles. Lawson Schultz brought in the first Crusader run with a hit to right field, one of the Crusaders’ 13 hits. Buhler scored on Gus Quillin’s ground ball for a 2-0 lead.

Andover Central (14-11) made the score 2-1 in the third on an RBI double from Cole Taylor. Andrew Rafferty followed with a sacrifice fly to score a run, and Grant Schoonover gave the Jaguars a 3-2 lead with a bloop single into shallow center.

“We didn’t get caught up in the score,” Buhler pitcher/shortstop Jace Williams said. “We knew that there was plenty of game left and we weren’t done scoring.”

Williams, the starting pitcher, struck out five in four innings. Hunter Miller came on in relief and pitched three shutout innings for the save.

“I was feeling good on the mound today,” Williams said. “I was a little bit more anxious than nervous, I just wanted to get out there and throw that first pitch and then settle down.”

Buhler pushed three more runs across in the fourth, highlighted by Ethan White’s double to center to give the Crusaders the lead for good. Buhler used a three-run sixth to extend their lead on the Jaguars. White led the Crusaders offense, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs. The Crusaders pushed across six of their eight runs with two outs.

Cole Taylor tried to get a rally going in the seventh inning for the Jaguars as he led off with a single, but was stranded on second. Taylor went 4 for 4 with an RBI for Andover Central.

“These guys for so many reasons have so much to be proud about,” Bacon said. “We were 10-10 going into regionals, and here we were today playing for a state title. It’s going to be hard to swallow, but regardless I’m proud of how they handled themselves with class.”

Eight of the nine players in the Crusaders batting order recorded a hit.

“These kids battled through everything,” Neill said. “Our depth is what I think won it for us this weekend. We have so many guys that made contributions to what we were able to do.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Buhler completes run to 4A-I baseball title."