MERRILL — Senior catcher Jacob Thornton hit a two-run single in the fifth inning, and the Aquinas High School baseball team made that hold up for a 2-1 victory over Prescott in a WIAA Division sectional semifinal on Tuesday afternoon.
The top-seeded Blugolds (22-3) now prepare for a championship game against third-seeded Mosinee (16-6) that begins at 4 p.m. The winner of that game wins the Merrill Sectional and earns a spot in the Division 2 bracket of the state tournament next week.
Aquinas, which won the Division 3 state championship last year and is ranked third by state coaches, advanced by getting the third while the seventh-ranked Cardinals (21-5) had two runners on after they had scored their lone run on a wild pitch.
The Blugolds had just four hits but left fielder Ryan Johnson led off the fifth with a single before shortstop Jonny Deets drew a two-out walk. Center fielder Cullen Sackman was then hit by a pitch before Thornton lined a 1-1 pitch to left field that brought Johnson and Deets in to break a scorless tie.
Second baseman Isaac Schelfhout and first baseman/pitcher Landon Teachout also singled for Aquinas. Junior Waylon Hargrove pitched the first 6 1/3 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits and three walks while striking out five.
Teachout walked two and threw a wild pitch, but he got the final two outs he needed to allow the Blugolds to advanmce.
