The People’s Tribune

Owls Win District Championship; Advance To State Quarterfinal

A pitchers duel in the MSHSAA Class 2 Sectional quickly turned into a Silex blowout as the Owls plated 10 runs in the fifth to down Northeast (Cairo) 11-1 on Monday.

The Owls went with their top lefty Brian Henke on the mound, while Cairo went with their number 2 pitcher Bryce Taylor to start state play.

Taylor struck out four Owls in the first two innings, but Silex pulled ahead in the third with a hit from Colby Gruenloh to lead-off the inning. A sac bunt by Henke put Gruenloh on second and he scored on an RBI single by Tommy Grote with two out.

Henke sent eight Cairo hitters back to the dugout with strikeouts in the first four innings to hold the one run lead.

Then in the top of the fifth, the Owls’ bats came alive as the Bearcats fell apart.

Silex would send 13 batters to the plate in the frame, collecting six hits and 10 runs while Northeast committed two official errors and three other misplays to aid the Owls.

Henke drove in a run, Justin Havlik plated a pair with a double and Scott Creech ran the lead to double digits with a three run home run to right field to put a bow on the inning.

Needing two runs to continue the game, the Bearcats took advantage of an error and a wild pitch to score one, but Henke struck out the side to finish the game with 11 Ks and mercy Cairo in five innings to advance to the Class 2 Quarterfinal on Wednesday.

The Creech blast and Henke’s dominance earned the pair the co-Community State Bank TribCast Players of the Game.

The Owls (11-4) will have to travel to face Bishop LeBond (8-12) in St. Joseph in the Quarterfinal.

The Eagles are the only sub .500 team remaining in the Class 2 Tournament, but defeated Scotland County 14-5 in their Class 2 Sectional on Monday.

The Owls won their district last week with an 11-1 victory over (2) Paris. The games were featured on TribCast at www.thepeoplestribune.com.

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