Runnels Raiders top Zwolle for Class B crown

• By BRET H. MCCORMICK
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: May 11, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 2 a.m.

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ALEXANDRIA — The third time was the charm for the Runnels Raiders.

Top-seeded Runnels, making its third straight trip to the Class B state baseball tournament at Bringhurst Field, broke through for an elusive state title with a 12-2 win over No. 2 Zwolle in five innings. The Raiders had previously won the Class C title in 1997.

“They stuck with it,” Runnels coach Tookie Johnson said. “They realize any time you get here, there are going to be three quality teams. It’s tough to win here.”

Runnels (24-6-2) used its experience — eight starting seniors — to get past the Hawks who were making their first trip to the state final.

After Zwolle (27-3) escaped the first inning with no damage, the Raiders began their offensive onslaught — scoring three in the second, two in the third, another one in the fourth and finishing it off with six in the fifth.

“We just had to loosen up and do what got us here, which was hit throughout the lineup,” Johnson said. “That’s something we didn’t do (Friday).”

“They were solid 1 to 9,” Zwolle coach Chris Brumley said of the Raiders’ lineup.

Seven of the nine Runnels batters in the lineup had at least one hit, and everybody scored — except pitcher Sean Root, whose courtesy runner, Marc Stanley, scored three runs.

Much of the damage came from the bottom of Runnels’ lineup, where senior catcher Zach Chambers and senior right fielder Zach Lucas — the No. 8- and 9-hole batters — combined to go 6-for-7 with five RBIs.

“That’s the great thing about our lineup,” said Root, who pitched a complete game to push his record to 11-0. “Even when the top of the lineup isn’t coming through, the bottom of the lineup can come through with a clutch hit and put runs on the board.”

Chambers led the way with two RBI singles and a two-run home run over the left-field wall in the fifth inning that jump-started the Raiders’ final push to victory.

“He never fails to amaze people,” Johnson said of Chambers, who finished the state tournament 4-for-6 with a triple, homer and six RBIs. “He just believes he can do it, and boy that’s powerful in high school sports.”

“This is the best way I can see ending my baseball career,” Chambers said. “I’m not going to play anywhere next year. I did the best I could, and the team did the best it could.”