By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Abilene Cowboys left little doubt about their playoff prowess this week, steamrolling their way through the 4A regional bracket to punch a ticket to this year’s state tournament.
With victories of 12-2 over Winfield and 7-2 over Mulvane, Abilene will return to Salina for a second straight season to play for a 4A title.
Overall I thought the guys played well,” Abilene head coach Travis Bartley said. “We got good starts from Kyson and Stocton, our defense played well and the offense got things going early. Practice leading up to Tuesday went well and the guys were calm and confident.”
The Cowboys wasted no time getting up on their first opponent, leading Winfield 3-0 after one and 5-0 after three.
Winfield would scratch across a lone run in the fourth and sixth, but Abilene galloped away with a big sixth inning to put the semifinal match to bed early.
Kyson Becker was lights out on the bump for the Cowboys, allowing just one earned run on three hits, striking out eight, and walking just one.
At the plate, Zach Miller and Heath Hoekman ran wild on the basepaths, coming in to score 7 of Abilene’s 12 runs on the day.
Alongside Hoekman, Stocton Timbrook, Jake Bartley, and Tyler Holloway also found timely hits, with that quartet driving in 11 of the Cowboy’s 12 runs.
Game two was more of a pitcher's duel early with the two sides scoreless going into the bottom of the third.
From there, the Abilene bats warmed, and the Cowboys struck for three runs in the third, two more in the fourth, and two in the sixth to eliminate Mulvane 7-2.
This time, it was Stocton Timbrook and Jake Bartley who locked down the Mulvane lineup, combining to toss seven innings, allowing just two runs on four hits and cutting down twelve batters on strikes.
At the dish Thomas Keener, Zach Miller, and Heath Hoekman all recorded multi-hit games, with Miller and Hoekman driving in four more runs in the win.
The 4A state tournament will be played at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina from May 23 to May 24.