The No. 6 ranked Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk baseball team got district play underway on Tuesday with a 12-2 win in six innings over visiting West Branch at Paul N. Bailey Field in Wellman. In a game heard on AM and FM KCII, Mid-Prairie took an early lead in the first when Brad Tornow singled in Keegan Gingerich to make it 1-0. The Bears answered back with a run in the second to tie the game at one, only to see the Golden Hawks score twice in the bottom half when Aidan Rath singled to drive in Monte Slabaugh and Will Cavanagh making it 3-1. That’s where things stood until the fifth, when Mid-Prairie sent 10 men to the plate, scoring seven times, chasing West Branch Starter Trey Eagle and blowing the game open. In the frame, Mid-Prairie got runs from Gingerich, Tornow, Rath, Kayden Reinier, Cain Brown, Cavanagh and Chris Miller with RBI from Slabaugh, Miller and a three run homer to dead center field from Rath. After the game, he talked about the at-bat. “The offense started going when everyone relaxed and comfortable. I watched the first pitch, but on the second one I connected and it just happened. It’s definitely fun in those moments, to have your teammates congratulate and get to be with those guys.”

West Branch got a single run in the sixth to get within 10-2, but Mid-Prairie finished things in the bottom half of the inning with Tornow driving in Cameron PIckard and Cavanagh to send the fans home early. The story of the night was Golden Hawk Monte Slabaugh, who following an early exit by starter Brad Tornow, after just one inning, was forced into action throwing five innings, giving up just five hits, two runs and striking out three to record the win. He was also two for two at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. He talked after the game about his night. “I was told during practice this week, be ready to go on the mound at any time. I came in, knew I had the defense behind me, I’ve trusted those guys all year. Fastball and off-speed mix, keep the batters off balance. At the plate early in the year I was trying to hit the ball hard, it didn’t work. So I went back to my approach from last year, put the ball in play and let it do the work. This is great, getting the first playoff work is probably the hardest one. From here we just roll. Get the momentum and we’re comin'”

Other standouts for the Hawks included Rath with four driven in on two hits and Chris Miller with a pair of hits and an RBI. With the win, the Hawks are now 13-3 on the year and will play for the district title on Saturday against West Liberty, who was a one run winner over Wilton earlier in the evening. You can hear all of the action live from Paul N. Bailey Field in Wellman Saturday night with the Washington HyVee pregame show at 6:30 and first pitch at 7p.m. on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com.