By PATRICK CASEY
Paxton senior Grant Stewart struck out 14 batters and the Bobcats offense scored nine runs to knock off top-seeded Central 9-0 in the District 1, Class A title game played at Poplar Springs High School on Thursday night.
The Bobcats held a 1-0 lead through four innings as Stewart would give up only three hits to the Jaguars in the contest before the Paxton offense exploded to score eight runs over the final three innings of play.
Zach Varnum had three hits in the game as Paxton totaled 12 hits with Stewart driving in three runs to help his own cause. Garrett Bodie also drove in a pair of runs while Varnum, Jack Hamilton and Bryson Turner each scored twice.
Paxton (16-6) earned their 10th consecutive district title and 11th overall with the victory and will host Holmes County(19-8) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in an opening round Class A playoff contest.
The Bobcats qualified for the playoffs for the 14th time in the sport in school history after defeating Malone 11-1 behind a no-hitter from senior Austin Franklin. Paxton took advantage of four Malone errors while adding eight hits of their own to post their third win of the year against the Tigers. Franklin struck out 10 batters while allowing five walks.
Team Notes: Paxton won yet another district title after losing seven seniors from the 2015 squad. Head coach Nate Moore, in his first season, became the third Bobcats baseball coach to win the district title after taking over from Chris Davenport last year. Jeff Bradley led the squad to nine district titles during his time as head coach. Paxton is 8-6 in 14 home playoff games and 10-13 overall in 13 playoff trips. Stewart and Franklin give the Bobcats as good of a 1-2 punch on the mound as any Class A team in the state. Holmes County and Paxton have faced off just once in the state baseball playoffs, a Region Final in 2012 that saw the Bluedevils earn a 9-7 win in Paxton that season. Holmes County beat Bozeman 7-1 in the Final Four that year before losing to state champion Union County 6-3. Holmes County has missed the playoffs the last two seasons but has made 15 appearances in playoff history, holding a 9-15 mark overall while finishing as the state runner-up in 1966 and 2012.