A nine-run third inning and a stellar start on the mound by Cole Gayman helped lift Webb City to an 11-1 runrule win in five innings over Kickapoo on Thursday at Chuck Barnes Field.
"(Cross) Kubik had different off-speed pitches and he had a different arm slot," Webb City coach Flave Darnell said on his postgame interview. "He's a good pitcher. We are fortunate enough to find some gaps and got a couple of walks, got some guys on base. We got some timely hits there in the third inning. It was good to see us have a little more discipline our second time through the order.
"Our approach was really good. Coach (Aaron) Snow does a really good job with those guys. They played well. We are swinging it good one-through-nine right now."
The Cardinals moved to 24-5 to end the regular season. They will open play in the Class 5 District tournament on Tuesday, playing host to Parkview at 5 p.m.
Webb City drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning as it plated its nine runs on five hits. The frame was highlighted by an RBI double by Devrin Weathers, an RBI triple and an RBI single by Treghan Parker, an RBI single by Matt Woodmansee, an RBI sacrifice grounder by Cole Gayman and an RBI at-bat by Matt Woodmansee.
Kickapoo (23-8) plated its run in the fourth before the Cardinals responded with another run in the bottom half. A single to right field by Eli Goddard plated William Hayes from third to put Webb City up 10-1.
In the fifth, Jeremiah Leaming recorded a single to left field that plated Noel for the five-inning run-rule.
Gayman went the distance to pick up the win, limiting Kickapoo to one earned run and four hits while striking out three.
"Cole and Coach (Andrew) Doennig have been working hard on a third pitch," Darnell said on his postgame interview. "Kickapoo's a good team. They are aggressive in the box. They do a good job and they are solid on defense. We were fortunate enough to hit it where they weren't. Cole did great. He's a competitor. We are looking forward to the playoffs."
Parker finished 3 for 4 with three RBI and one run scored. Aiden Brock went 2 for 2, while Weathers and Woodmansee logged one hit and two RBI apiece.