SHELBY — The only thing cold was the ice shower Wynford players gave to head coach Tom Smith and winning pitcher Kaiden Blair during their post-game interviews.

The Royals downed Oak Harbor 7-2 in a Division III district final on a hot Saturday night. It marked the first district championship for Wynford since 1996.

“It’s my first game pitching on turf, so in the first inning there were a lot of learning curves and throughout the game,” Blair said.

Wynford (21-8) got two runs to open the game and banged out 10 hits for the contest.

Grant McGuire ripped a single to left and an error allowed both base runners to score. Spencer Miller had walked, and Blair singled to right center to open the inning.

Blair scattered six hits, struck out one and walked five. But when he needed outs, he and his teammates got them.

“They hit the ball, which was fine. My teammates were backing up everything. It might not do justice for how good that team was. I really respect that team. We had a couple plays at the plate that went our way,” he said.

Wynford displayed defensive prowess as catcher Brett Crall made a pair of nice tags at the dish, one in the third inning after a triple by Tim Marquette. Blair retired the next two batters and gave up harmless single runs to the Rockets in the third and fourth innings.

With the win Wynford advances to the regional semifinal at Patrick Henry High School against Millbury Lake on Thursday at 2 p.m. The Flyers defeated Ottawa Hills, 8-4, in their district championship game.

“The key is the seniors. Spencer Miller and, of course today, Kaiden Blair. Those two guys, they don’t get rattled,” Smith said.

The Royals blew the game open with a four-run fourth inning.

“We’ve been scoring a lot of runs, but here in the tournament we’re starting to take bases and put pressure on the defense a little bit more than what we had all season. We’re creating extra runs and that really comes in handy in a tournament game,” he said.

McGuire belted a double, Drew Johnson was hit by a pitch and Crall’s sacrifice bunt led to an infield error to open the door.

Landon Miller ripped a single past shortstop and two walks by Oak Harbor pitchers Brayden Myerholtz and Marquette gave Wynford a 6-1 lead.

Myerholtz took the loss despite three strikeouts and just one walk. Marquette pitched in relief when Myerholtz injured his foot coming off the mound.

“Throwing those two guys out at the plate was a momentum stopper. It helped get us fired up and slowed them down a little bit,” Smith said. “That’s a good Oak Harbor team. That’s who I thought would be there. Edison is really good also. (It’s) a really tough district.

“We’re just proud to beat these guys. We haven’t won a district since 1996, so that’s pretty cool. So, these players were on a mission.”

Blair, the team’s third pitching option behind Miller and Johnson, received praise for his work.

“He moves the ball around. He tries to locate the edges and did a good job locating. I thought the (strike) zone was a little tight. He still worked with it and the defense played great behind him,” Smith said.

Oak Harbor (19-7) hit the ball hard, as evidenced by its three triples.

Miller made a nice catch of a line drive and doubled up a base runner to end the first inning with the bases loaded.

Blair worked out of a similar situation an inning later.

“Playing with a lead is way easier than playing down. The worst was like 8-0 nothing. We came back in a lot of those. We know how to battle back. But in a district championship game it’s very hard to come back from,” he said.

“It’s the biggest game I’ve been a part of in my life. It’s nice to go out with at least a district championship. But we still have got more work to do, trying to get all the way to the state championship.”

Rockets head coach Nick Lance credited the Royals with a solid team effort.

“Hats off to Wynford. They swing it well. McGuire’s a back-to-back District 9 player of the year. He was kind of the one we were worried about, but obviously they’ve got more than just him.

“We had self-inflicted wounds. They put the ball in play and did a nice job. I’ll take my guys over anybody. I’m proud of them to get back to this stage again. It says something. But we’ve got to get over that hurdle. We’re gonna get there and go to regionals sometime,” Lance said.

A few missed chances also hurt Oak Harbor.

“We had an opportunity where we were going to try to run the squeeze and just didn’t have the pieces set. We got rushed a little bit and that might have taken a little steam out of our sail. We were trying to tie it back up,” he said.

Getting triples in the second, third and fourth innings yielded just two runs.

“It changes a little bit. We kind of got held up on the one. That’s the game of baseball. It just comes down to execution and we just didn’t do enough of it, whether it be defensively or offensively,” Lance said.

Wes Prenger and Crall had two RBI each for the Royals. Michael LaLonde and Marquette drove in the two Oak Harbor runs.

For Wynford the 7-2 win is another step in the journey and their lucky number might just be seven following a 7-6 triumph over Crestview and then a 7-5 victory over Margaretta.

“The seniors have been carrying the team. They’re tough,” Smith said speaking of the quartet of McGuire, Crall, Miller and Blair.

Box score

Wynford          200 410 0       7    10      1

Oak Harbor    001 100 0       2      6      2

WP: Kaiden Blair (1 SO, 5 W)

LP: Brayden Myerholtz (3 SO, 1 W)

HR: None.

Triples: (OH) Tim Marquette, Karson Lash, Michael LaLonde.

Doubles: (W) Grant McGuire.

Multiple hits: (W) Grant McGuire, Brett Crall, Wes Prenger; (OH) Cooper Schultz.

Records: Wynford 21-8; Oak Harbor 19-7.

Next: Wynford vs. Millbury Lake at Patrick Henry Division III regional semifinal, Thursday, 2 p.m.