BASEBALL: Aviston ends SB-T baseball's unbeaten run
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Aviston ended St. Bruno-Tamaroa's quest for a baseball state championship on Wednesday, jumping out to a 9-0 lead en route to an 11-4 final over the Falcons in Coulterville City Park.
Brady Rakers took the first pitch of the bottom of the first from SBT's Cole Bigham and drilled it into centerfield for a leadoff double, but it would be a bloop single followed by a sacrafice fly that plated the game's first run.
After plating another in the second inning, the Eagles jumped on the Falcons in the third.
A pair of shallow singles scored Dakota Auer, and a well-hit double to right center field scored two more runs. A visit to the mound couldn't stop the bleeding for SBT, as balls continued to find holes and drop in front of outfielders. Aviston led 8-0 after three innings.
Josh Dunning retired the first five Falcons' batters in order before allowing a single in the second inning, but didn't allow another hit until the fifth, when St. Bruno-Tamaroa found some success and threatened a comeback.
Bigham singled to center to lead off the inning, but was picked off after taking too big of a lead at first. Nolan Bruns singled then ended up at third after Robbie Borchelt's groundout. After Tyler Iubelt and Tyler Rulevish both walked, the bases were loaded for Falcons' sluggler Nolan Luke.
Luke singled to shallow right, scoring two runs. Adam Banach followed with a double in the left field gap that plated another pair, and suddenly the Falcons were back in the game down 9-4.
The offense sputtered from there on, however, as Aviston held on to advance into Friday's 3:00 p.m. championship game at Coulterville.
With the loss, SB-T falls into the third place game, Friday at 1:00 p.m., also in Coulterville.
Bigham was 2-for-3 at the plate, as was Bruns (1 R).
Bigham also picked up the loss on the hill, Luke came in to finish off the game late in the big third inning for Aviston.