If Woodlawn had to make a lasting impression in its rivalry renewal with Junction City, it was making the last meeting of the season count the most.
The Bears owe much thanks to Gavin Johnston and Trey Hankins for that.
Johnston pitched four hitless innings and held Junction City to two, and Hankins closed the door Saturday in a 2-1 victory at Taylor Field that sent Woodlawn to its fifth state championship game in the last six years. Woodlawn will play Carlisle at 5:30 p.m. next Saturday at the University of Arkansas’ Baum Stadium.
“It’s good revenge,” Johnston said.
The Bears (32-5) evened the season series with the Dragons at two wins apiece, but avenged a 4-3 loss a week earlier in the 2A South Regional semifinals and knocked out the team that ended their four-year string of state title games last year. Woodlawn won championships in 2008 and 2010.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We played Woodlawn three times this year (before Saturday), and every one of them’s been close,” Junction City coach Joe Hammett said. “We won two of them and they won one, and it would be anybody’s ballgame, and it was. Our pitchers did a good job and theirs did, too, and defensively, both teams did well.”
Woodlawn had a 3-2 hitting advantage Saturday, but both teams made all their hits in one inning. The Bears scored their two runs on three hits in the opening frame and chased Dragons starter Hunter Hightower after four at-bats.
Dillon Miller (double) and Johnston (single) dealt back-to-back RBI hits before Dylon Disotell could record three outs in relief of Hightower. Disotell, who worked three innings, and Colt Michael combined to keep the Bears hitless from there.
Johnston walked four batters and stranded three runners in the first four innings. He got Kyle Black to fly out to end the fourth inning after two straight walks, then retired the first two batters in the fifth before walking Zakeem Holliday. That led to back-to-back singles by Michael and Hayden Smith, the last coming on a 1-2 pitch to score Holliday and cut Woodlawn’s lead in half.
“My arm just felt good today whenever I got out of bed,” Johnston said. “I was just going to try to put it in the (strike) zone and relax.”
Johnston and Hankins each threw two strikeouts.
“Johnston threw well all day,” Richardson said. “We were getting squeezed, it looked like. Those inside corners we make a living on, we didn’t get those calls today, but he adjusted to his credit, and beat the zone up, came back and got outs for us.”
Michael faced the minimum through the final four innings, allowing only one baserunner and striking out six Bears. Hankins took over for Johnston in the sixth and loaded the bases with two outs, then appeared to get out of the jam when Holliday was ruled swinging on an inside full-count pitch. Hammett made a successful protest to overturn the call, but Hankins threw another strike to end the inning.
“I didn’t think they were even arguing the swing,” Hankins said. “I thought it was a strike. They called us back, so I went out there. I had it in my mind to throw the same exact pitch at the same exact spot. I got him swinging that time; that’s all that matters.”
Richardson said he didn’t want to tell Hankins anything after he was forced to make another pitch because he knew Hankins was determined.
After Michael struck out the Woodlawn side of the seventh, Hankins walked Michael and then retired the next three batters to finish off Junction City. Disotell flew out to left field for the final out, setting off a loud celebration behind the Bears’ dugout.
Jacob Richardson had the other hit for Woodlawn, a first-inning single. He stumbled just a few feet away from home plate and was thrown out by the center fielder on Johnston’s one-run single.
Tommy Richardson hopes the two-year mathematical pattern of winning state championships is a good omen for his team.
“That works for me,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll take it.”
Carlisle 13, Horatio 3
The Bison scored five runs each in the first and seventh innings and took advantage of five errors by the Lions in winning the earlier 2A semifinal game at Taylor Field.
Josh Mathis went 3 for 3 at the plate and also was the winning pitcher. Tommy Inman and Trey Wilson each batted 2 for 4 for Carlisle.
Horatio ended an 8-0 shutout with a three-run fifth inning. The Lions had only six hits to the Bison’s 12.
Codey Fry went 2 for 3 to lead Horatio.