Ouachita Edges Woodlawn, 2-1, in 2A State Title Game

CONWAY, Ark. - The third time proved to be the charm for the Ouachita Warriros Saturday afternoon as they used a stellar defensive effort and a two-hit performance from junior righthander Trey Cox to get past the Woodlawn Bears, 2-1, in a wellplayed Class 2A State Championship game at Bear Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas at Conway.The loss spoiled Woodlawn’s bid to win a fourth consecutive state title, and also snapped the Bears’ 23-game win streak.Woodlawn is now 9-4 in the 13 championship baseball games it has played in since 2007. The Bears remained tied with Junction City for the most state high school baseball championships with nine.While it was a disappointing end to the season, Woodlawn Coach Tommy Richardson seemed to take it in stride, telling his team that they had not given the game away, but it was simply a matter of Ouachita playing a nearly perfect game. Neither team was charged with an error.“We never got rolling,” Richardson said on the field as the Warriors celebrated in the background. “It had a lot to do with that Cox guy on the mound.”Cox managed to kept the Woodlawn offense at bay. Woodalwn starter Peyton Wells and reliever Tate Hall actually had more combined strikeouts in the game than Cox (10 to 6), but Cox was able to force a lot of pop ups and infield grounders.“He threw more fast balls than I thought he would,” Richardson said. “I kind of planned on him throwing more off speed, but his off speed didn’t bother us. He hurt us with his fastball. That’s normally not the case with a Woodlawn team.”Still, the Bears did get off a few shots against Cox but some outstanding defensive plays by the Warriors’ outfield prevented those from falling for possible extra-base hits. Woodlawn’s Garrett Weatherford had two blasts that looked like they may go for extras but Ouachita sophomore rightfielder Tyler Abernathy made a couple lunging catches to ...