Eagles top Dragons in 4A baseball playoff

• Boatman, Eagles bat their way past Dragons in 4A

New Life starting pitcher Steve Boatman helped his own cause with an RBI hit to drive in teammate Kory Kiekhofer from third base as the Eagles defeated Math and Science Academy, 15-5, in the Section 4A baseball playoff opener on Thursday. Staff Photo by Tom Carothers.

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Woodbury vs. East Ridge was not the only cross-town sectional baseball showdown on Thursday as New Life Academy hosted Math and Science Academy in the "other" all-Woodbury playoff matchup in the opening game of the Section 4A bracket at the Bielenberg Sports Center.

Starting pitcher Steve Boatman and his Eagles teammates put down a third-inning uprising from the Dragons before sixth-seeded New Life went on to top No. 11 seed MSA by a 15-5 score in five innings.

The Eagles scored in every one of the four innings they had an at-bat, logging three runs in each of the first two frames, two in the third and seven in the fourth while the Dragons temporarily held a two-run lead after a five-run turn in the second.

Boatman was charged for all five earned runs, but struck back for a couple runs batted in himself on a 1-for-3 day at the plate. New Life's Kory Kiekhofer was driven in by Boatman in the second and himself went 3-for-3 with three runs scored. John Horner got a hit in his only credited plate appearance, but also scored four times after a series of walks; Thomas Brezniak was 3-for-4 with one run scored, while Travis Taylor was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Sam Mazzon was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Dragons pitcher Kelan Chang took the loss on the mound; other MSA statistics were not available at this time.

The loss was a season-ender for the Dragons, who went 7-10 this spring, while the 9-6 Eagles advance to take on third-seeded St. Bernard's (11-10) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in St. Paul.

A win over the Bulldogs — who are playing the final games in school history as the institution is set to close at the end of this school year — would push the Eagles into the double-elimination portion of the bracket and another sectional playoff next Tuesday, with a location yet-to-be determined.

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