NEW WASHINGTON — For four innings, the Colonel Crawford offense was rather moribund, getting just one hit. Still, the Eagles held a 4-0 lead at that point.

Colonel Crawford starting pitcher Van Wintersteller made that lead stand up until the Crawford offense came around.

Wintersteller tossed a four-hit shutout, striking out 11, before the Eagles scored six times in the final two innings, en route to a 10-0 six-inning win over Mansfield Christian in the final of the Division VI baseball sectional tournament at Buckeye Central.

With the win, the Eagles improved to 11-12 on the season and will play in the district tournament at Shelby. The fourth-seeded Eagles will battle third-seeded Crestview on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Cougars advanced with a 10-0 win over Bucyrus Friday.

In the opposite bracket, top-seeded Wynford will battle second-seeded Western Reserve in Shelby on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Despite facing cold and windy conditions at Buckeye Central, Wintersteller threw strikes and threw the ball with extreme confidence.

“I felt pretty good,” Wintersteller said. “We prepared earlier this week for it, and I knew I was going to throw well today.

“I was ready for the wind. It was cold, but we’ve played through it,” he added.

Crawford coach Jordan Oliver was also impressed with his junior right-hander.

“I was happy with the way he attacked the strike zone and attacked their hitters,” Oliver said. “He had his curve ball working today. And he mixed that in when he needed to.

“He’s pitched a lot of big games for us over the last three years. So, to win a sectional championship, he’s put a lot of work in, and that was awesome for him.”

Despite the lack of offense early, the Eagles were still able to cash in, getting 2 runs in each of the first two innings.

Parker Weithman opened the game by reaching on an error before Deagan Moore singled, scoring Weithman, who had stolen second base. Moore moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a Wintersteller ground ball.

In the second, the Eagles took advantage of five straight walks, scoring two more runs, to take a 4-0 lead after two.

Christian threatened in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with one out. But Wintersteller struck out the next two batters, ending the threat.

Crawford broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five times.

Wintersteller and Nate McCartney drove back-to-back doubles to left center, scoring a run, before Grady Riggle and Carson Rader singled. Weithman cleared the bases with a double as Crawford held a 9-0 lead.

In the sixth, Crawford ended the game with three walks and a Christian error.

Oliver said that the Eagles have been working hard on being able to overcome adversity.

“That was our emphasis to the coaching staff and the kids,” Oliver said. “We can’t get down on ourselves if we have a bad inning or a bad couple of innings. Our bats kind of woke up.

“Then, I think, in the bottom of the fifth inning, we kind of broke the game open a little bit.”

Box score

Mansfield Christian   000 000 X       0      4      6

Colonel Crawford       220 051 X     10      6      0

WP: Van Wintersteller (11 SO, 0 W)

LP: Blayne Morrow (1 SO, 5 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: (CC) Van Wintersteller, Nate McCartney, Parker Weithman.

Multiple hits: None.

Records: Mansfield Christian 4-17; Colonel Crawford 11-12.

Next: Mansfield Christian season over; Colonel Crawford vs. Ashland Crestview, Division VI district semifinal at Shelby, Wednesday.