Cathedral busted their game against West Lincoln wide open early on, beating the Bears 13-1 in four and a half innings to secure a playoff spot and the opportunity to face St. Aloysius for a shot at the district tournament title.

The Green Wave was able to avenge their opening round loss to West Lincoln by scoring four runs in the first inning, and eight runs in the second to put away the game early.

“Us scoring early in the game had an effect. After we scored four runs in the first, I think they (West Lincoln) were emotionally down,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said.

The strong early start was due in part to a Patrick McDonough RBI single and a bases-loaded clearing triple by Daniel Jenkins in the first inning.

In the second inning, Preston Edwards, Caleb Johnson and Jesse Morrison each had doubles that scored runs. A pass ball and a couple of errors led to more runs scoring.

Both teams swapped runs in the fourth inning, but West Lincoln failed to generate any more runs in the fifth inning to prolong the game or their season.

“This team is young and I am proud of the way they battled all year,” West Lincoln head coach Steve Barrington said.

The Bears finished the season with an overall record of 8-13 and were 5-5 in district play.

“We had a great year, and we are going to grow and get better,” Barrington said.

With the win, Cathedral improved to 19-5 overall and will face St. Aloysius today at 2 p.m., weather permitting. Should the game be called on account of bad weather, the championship will be rescheduled for Monday, starting at 4 p.m.

The Green Wave will have to beat the undefeated Flashes twice to win the championship.

“With our backs against the wall, anything can happen,” Beesley said.

Cathedral 11, Enterprise 1

Patrick McDonough went the distance for Cathedral in the Green Wave’s first game on Friday as he gave up just two hits and allowed only one run in Cathedral’s 11-1 victory over Enterprise at Chester Willis Field.

“Having Patrick on the mound gave us some confidence,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said. “We always play better when Patrick in on the mound.”

While McDonough kept the Yellow Jackets frustrated at the plate, The Green Wave batters kept Enterprise busy in the field. Cathedral (18-5) scored 11 in five innings, including six in the bottom of the bottom of the fifth inning that invoked the mercy rule and advanced the Green Waves further in the district tournament.

Cathedral scored two runs in the first inning, three in the third and one in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth. In the final inning Cathedral scored six runs total, with four coming off of Yellow Jacket errors.

“They had several break downs and mental errors, and we took advantage of what they gave us,” Beesley said.

The loss to Cathedral drops the Yellow Jackets’ overall record to 7-14 and 5-7 in the district. The loss also brings a close to the Enterprise baseball season, but the Yellow Jacket’s head coach Seth Lofton said he optimistic about next year.

“We are a young team and we are going back to work this summer after spring football, and get things on the right track,”

Enterprise is only losing two seniors to graduation.