NORTH ROBINSON — Kason Wurm hits ninth in Colonel Crawford’s batting order.

He batted like a lead-off hitter on Thursday.

Wurm was on base all four of his plate appearances — three singles and a hit-by-pitch — and scored three times to help the Eagles defeat Buckeye Central, 11-1, in the Division IV sectional final at Marion E. Althouse Field.

“It was really a team win — a lot of different people,” Colonel Crawford coach Dan Gorbett said. “Kason Wurm, a senior DH — he came up with people in scoring position three of four times he batted today. He had a huge game.”

The Eagles banged out 11 hits, including two doubles, and took advantage of six walks issued by Bucks’ pitching, along with five hit batters.

It was more than enough support for Eagles pitcher Brennan Hamilton. The senior righthander twirled a two hitter and lost the shutout on a wild pitch in the first inning.

“I think he was throwing harder in the third, fourth, fifth innings than he did in the first two innings,” Gorbett said. “Give Buckeye credit. They had several hitters that just kept fouling off what I thought were good pitches. They did a nice job getting his pitch count up (early).”

Hamilton struck out nine and walked three — two of which came in the first inning. He retired the last nine Buckeye Central (7-16) batters and faced just two over the minimum after the first inning.

The Bucks were able to hang close for the first three innings. The Bucks scratched out a run in the first inning without a hit.

Isaac Hiler was safe on an error with one out and moved to third when Derex Dean and Jacob Hiler drew walks. Isaac Hiler then scored on a wild pitch.

“Crawford took advantage of opportunities that they had, and they put the ball in play,” Buckeye Central coach Chad Jensen said. “They’re a good team. That’s what good teams do.

“I’m really proud of our kids, though, because our kids battled,” he continued. “We were ready to go. They were really focused and played their hearts out. We didn’t get some breaks here and there, but gosh, I couldn’t be more proud of my kids.”

The Bucks had a golden opportunity to expand their lead in the second inning. Gabe Bellamy tripled to the fence in right-center field. However, he was picked off third and the next two batters struck out to defuse the inning.

From there, it was all Colonel Crawford (14-11). The Eagles pushed across two runs in the bottom of the second inning as Bucks’ starter Isaac Hiler struggled with his control.

Jacob Lucius was hit by a pitch to start the inning — Lucius was also hit his next two trips to the plate — and Van Wintersteller bunted him to second. Nate McCartney walked.

After a fly out, Wurm beat out an infield single before Hamilton singled home two runs. A four-run fourth then pushed the Eagles’ advantage to 6-1 and put the game out of reach.

“In the third and fourth innings, we hit the ball really hard,” Gorbett said. “They made some great plays. That can be frustrating. We hung in there and got a couple of big innings.”

The fourth inning outburst was fueled by three hits, three walks and a hit batter. Hiler would eventually be knocked from the mound in the fifth after walking 6 and hitting four batters, while surrendering six hits.

“Isaac’s our horse. He’s our ace. He battled,” Jensen said. “He studied the game plan all day. He knew what he had to do, and again, Crawford took advantage of some opportunities.”

The Eagles added three in the fifth with just one hit and tacked on two more in the sixth on four hits, including a pinch-hit double by Rod Rike, to complete the scoring.

Brennan and Wurm each had three hits for Colonel Crawford. Nick Eachus had two singles and batted in two. Wintersteller and Rike each doubled. All nine Eagles hitters either had a hit, scored a run or both.

“We were patient, and we didn’t swing at curve balls in the dirt,” Gorbett said. “We got the walks when we could, and we got the count in our favor and that was one through nine. Everybody did a nice job of that.”

Jensen had mixed emotions about the season ending. He says good-bye to three seniors but is optimistic about the future.

“Our seniors mean a lot to me, Manny Mullins and Logan Hanes and Garrett Vaughn,” Jensen said. “Those kids I have coached in three sports since they were little — since third and fourth grade — and they’re a special group. They came every day, worked hard every day. They’re great kids, funny. They love baseball, loved coming every day. I’m going to miss them.

Jensen noted that the future is bright since the Bucks were playing their best baseball at the end of the season.

“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back,” Jensen said. “And I think they saw they can compete against anybody.”

Colonel Crawford moves on to the district tournament in Galion where they will face a familiar foe — Mohawk, a 13-1 winner over Ridgemont — on Wednesday.

“We beat them twice (in the regular season),” Gorbett said. “But we haven’t faced their ace yet. When you get in the districts, you know it’s going to be a close game. They’re a good team. It will be fun having a (Northern 10 Athletic Conference) semifinal.”

The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Heise Park as the first game of a doubleheader. Seneca East will take on Lucas in the nightcap at 7 p.m.

Box score

Buckeye Central        100 000 X        1        2       4

Colonel Crawford      000 00X X      11     11       1

WP: Brennan Hamilton (9 SO, 3 W)

LP: Isaac Hiler (1 SO, 6 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (BC) Gabe Bellamy.

Doubles: (CC) Rod Rike, Van Winterstellar.

Multiple hits: (CC) Kason Wurm 3, Brennan Hamilton, Nick Eachus.

Records: Buckeye Central 7-16; Colonel Crawford 14-11.

Next: Buckeye Central season over; Colonel Crawford vs. Mohawk at Galion Division IV district semifinal, Wednesday.