It took three and a half hours, but Centralia emerged as the winner at Mexico 18-16 in eight innings.
Centralia (8-6) fell behind 10-2 after three innings but outscored Mexico (11-8) 8-2 in the final three innings. The Panthers scored 13 of the game's 20 two-out runs while Mexico's pitchers accounted for 15 of the game's 21 walks. Anthony Ford led Centralia by reaching base all seven times and finished 4-for-4 with four RBI, three walks and two doubles, and Jaydon Eldridge led Mexico by going 3-for-5 with seven RBI and two triples. Other standout hitters for Centralia were Luke Waltemate going 2-for-5 with three RBI (including a two-RBI single that tied the the game at 14 in the seventh inning, Grant Kendrick went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI on two singles in the seventh and eighth innings, Ian Arellano went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Chase Kempker went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Mexico also had offensive contributions from Brayden Arnold going 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI (including a two-out RBI single to tie the game at 15 in the seventh), Austin Maxwell finished 3-for-5 with two RBI, and Drew DeMint went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two triples.
Centralia faces Class 3 No. 6 Mid-Buchanan (9-4) at 2 p.m. Friday in the first round of Walkoff Wood Bat Tournament in Faucett. Mexico hosts Lafayette (St. Joseph) (4-11) at 1 p.m. Friday.
Look for full Mexico and Centralia stories in the Wednesday, April 23, 2025, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
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