NORTH ROBINSON (Crawford County Now) — Colonel Crawford came out firing on all cylinders.

The Eagles came left the cage swinging, totaling eight runs in the first two innings.

Just when it looked like a run-rule shutout, Bucyrus battled for as long as they could in the top of the fifth inning. But it was too little too late.

By the bottom of the fifth inning, Bryant Berry doubled to drive in Grady Riggle and Van Wintersteller.

The No. 1 seeded Eagles slashed the No. 7 seeded Redmen’s season short with a 14-4 Division VI sectional final game here Friday.

Colonel Crawford will face either No. 4 seeded Wynford (12-10) or No. 5 Western Reserve (13-9) Wednesday in Shelby at 2 p.m.

“I just thought our energy improved from the last three games,” CC coach Jordan Oliver said. “We were just able to hit the ball a little bit better, and we took advantage of a couple of mistakes and put some runs on the board.”

The Eagles (13-10) lost their last three games coming into the game, so the energy to start the tournament off right was high. So too was the very young, very hungry Bucyrus (6-20) team.

“I have to applaud our guys,” Redmen coach Thad Hensel said. “It would have been very easy for our guys to hang their heads, but they continued to battle. They came out, hit the ball, scored runs, did the little things and kept it close for as long as they could.”

In the bottom of the second inning, with Crawford leading 8-0, Bucyrus switched pitchers from starter Quin Ross to London Wade and held CC just enough to get the Redmen a run on the board.

In the third inning, Bucyrus broke through with three baserunners. Ben Jones came home on a wild pitch.

Colonel Crawford put another three runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Berry was safe on a ground ball to shortstop, but a Bucyrus throwing error allowed Nate McCartney and Evan Metzger to score, making it 10-1. Joe Zizzo followed with a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Berry.

In the top of the fifth, with two outs, Wade was at bat. Winterstellar threw a wild pitch, which plated in Cohen Chapman. Wade helped his own cause by with a single up the middle towards the fence that chased in both Issac Makeever and Wyatt Makeever, closing the Redmen gap to 11-4.

“London has come a long way this season,” Hensel said. “Hitting the ball, plate appearances, everything has just been so much better. He has a lot of quality at bats, hangs in there, fights things off until he gets one in there and gets some RBIs.”

After Wintersteller drove in Parker Weithman on an error at the bottom of the fifth, but the Eagles weren’t finished. CC scored two more with the final blow being Berry’s double to center to score Riggle and end the game in five innings.

“We are really excited for the direction of Coach Hensel’s program, and they are a lot better than what they were,” Oliver said. “They stuck with us in the beginning of the season, so we knew that we had to be on our A game, and we emphasized that we had to focus on ourselves and play the best that we can and Bucyrus is a dangerous team.”

Wintersteller won the battle on the mound. He allowed four runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Wintersteller — a four-year letterwinner for the Eagles and their ace for three years — was named first team All-Northern 10 Athletic Conference.

Wade pitched for 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits with one strike out and two walks. Bucyrus’s season is finished, but while they are losing two seniors to graduation in Jones and Rashaad Allen — everyone else is back next season.

“It’s honestly been a great season,” Hensel said. “The guys are excited for next year and hungry. They want to get better. They are in the cage constantly, in the gym, in the weight room. I am happy with the way the season turned out.”

For Colonel Crawford, the trek to get to Akron continues.

“Both teams are dangerous,” Oliver said of potential opponents at the district. “Wynford and us split one. They kicked our butt once and we know what they are capable of. We saw Western Reserve in a district final game last year. To be in a district final game means you have to be that good, so we know that we have to bring our A game and especially since everyone wants to win in tournament games.”

Box score

Bucyrus                      000 13X X       4        5       7

Colonel Crawford    440 33X X     14     11       0

WP: Van Wintersteller (4 SO, 5 W)

LP: Quin Ross (0 SO, 2 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (CC) Nate McCartney, Parker Weithman, Bryant Berry.

Multiple hits: (B) London Wade; (CC) Bryant Berry 3, Brayden Holt, Parker Weithman, Evan Metzger.

Records: Bucyrus 6-20; Colonel Crawford 13-10.

Next: Bucyrus season over; Colonel Crawford vs. Wynford/Western Reserve winner, Division VI district semifinal at Shelby, Wednesday.