ShawneeDispatch.com

Defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas never was allowed to feel comfortable Monday night until recording the final out of its Class 5A regional baseball final against Mill Valley.

The Saints held on for a 6-3 victory at the 3&2 East Complex, but the Jaguars led early and challenged late.

Mill Valley (10-11) opened the scoring in the second inning when John Theis led off with a double, Luke Lawyer reached safely on a perfectly placed bunt, and Chad Perkins scored Theis with a sharp single. The 1-0 lead held up until the bottom of the third when Aquinas exploded for five runs.

In the Saints half of the third, David Baska singled and stole second base. He scored on a throwing error by Jaguars pitcher Ben Hartmann. Mike Rzeszut, James Boddicker, Chance Brull and Ryan Nelson all scored in the inning - the big blow being Nelson's two-run stand-up triple to right-center field.

"The third inning was a big inning for them; our wheels came off a little bit," Mill Valley coach Jeff Strickland said. "(Aquinas) is a good baseball team."

The Saints added an insurance run in the fifth when Nelson scored on a single by Taylor Sharp.

Baska was dominant for Aquinas, striking out five and allowing six hits with no walks. He was efficient, keeping his pitch count low and getting ahead in the count consistently.

With two outs in the seventh inning, Baska had retired 17 straight Jaguars before Perkin's line shot off of Baska's glove landed for a single. Jordan Owens plated Perkins with a double, and he scored when Curtis Peavler reached safely on an error, making the score 6-3. That was all Mill Valley could muster before its comeback attempt ended.

Mill Valley's season ended one victory shy of the state tournament, but Strickland was optimistic about his team's future. "(Our seniors) are four young men that genuinely love baseball and were great leaders. It is something they will take through the rest of their life. We are losing them, but we have a lot of juniors and underclassmen that will hopefully make us better next year."

The Jaguars' bats were as hot as they've been all season during their semifinal game, a 17-2 drubbing of the Harmon Hawks.

The Jags started their onslaught as Andy See's one-out walk in the top of the first inning paved the way for a three-run inning. See scored on a wild pitch and Lawyer brought home the other two runs with a single.

Harmon countered with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Mill Valley put up two more runs in the top of the second thanks to three straight singles. Harmon pulled within 5-2 in the bottom of the inning, but the Jags quickly put the game out of reach after that.

Ethan Appleby jacked a three-run home run during a five-run third inning that put the game away.