By FRED KRONER
The Bulldogs scored early and often on Friday (June 4) to end their Class 3A regional semifinal baseball game at home against Decatur Eisenhower after four innings.
M-S posted a 16-0 win with pitchers Zach Courson and Braden Houchin holding the Panthers to one single.
Nate McFall slugged a three-run home run in the first inning, driving in Andrew Norman and Blake Wolters ahead of him. Two batters later, Mateo Casillas blasted a two-run homer, knocking in Chase Wagers to lift the Bulldogs into a quick 5-0 lead.
Five of M-S’ eight hits landed for extra bases. Wolters and Brayden Smith socked triples. Will Sampson showed a double among his two hits. Wolters also ended with two hits.
Courson worked the first 2 2/3 innings. He registered seven of his eight outs via strikeouts and walked no one. Houchin threw the final 1 1/3 innings and fanned three batters.
M-S (14-10) is working on a four-game winning streak in which it has outscored the opponents 47-6. The second-seeded Bulldogs return to action at 4:30 p.m. on Monday (June 7) at home against third-seeded Centennial (13-13) in the regional finals.
When the schools played in the regular season, M-S scored a 13-2 victory. Centennial earned its berth in the finals by virtue of a semifinal win over Urbana.
