Union City saddled up its big horse and rode into the District 14A baseball championship round.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said senior right-hander and staff ace Troy Joslin tossed a masterful one-hitter with 14 strikeouts, carrying the second-seeded Tornadoes to an 8-0 victory over league co-champion Greenfield in Wednesday’s showdown of the district’s top two teams.
The win had double meaning for Union City as it secured the Twisters a berth in the 14A finals on Friday and guaranteed the Purple and Gold a spot in next week’s regional tournament.
It also marked the 801st triumph in the 50-year history of the program, which is seeking its 12th state tournament and back-to-back appearances in the Spring Fling.
Union City (20-8) now awaits the survivor of the loser’s bracket in the championship round, needing just one win in two possible games to wrap up the 13th district title in the annals of the sport. Game 1 of the finals is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Elam Stadium.
Joslin was nothing short of spectacular Wednesday night, running his record to 7-1 with his latest mound gem that lowered his seasonal earned run average to a sparkling 1.44.
Both effective and efficient, he pounded all angles of the plate, throwing 59 of 85 pitches for strikes, and facing just two batters over the minimum. He struck out two Greenfield hitters in five of seven frames, his last strikeout ending the game.
For the season, Joslin has fanned 97 batters in 58 innings.
A two-run double by Copeland Chism in the third inning that plated Ben Kail and Sam Jones gave Union City a 3-0 lead after Joslin had raced home via a wild pitch to open the scoring.
The Twisters then broke open the contest with a five-run final at-bat.
Chism knocked in his third run with a sacrifice fly before Tucker Davis put the outcome on ice with a two-run, bases-loaded single. Union City was aided in the inning by four walks and a hit batsman.
Davis threw out a pair of ‘Jackets on the bases in the middle innings to squelch any chance of Greenfield breaking into the scoring column.
