James Redford at first in a pickoff attempt vs. Clearwater.

By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow – The “Regional Curse” continues for the Wellington High School baseball team.

Wellington, which finished 19-9, fell to host Mulvane 5-1 in the regional championship yesterday evening. The Crusaders defeated Clearwater 3-1 in the first round earlier.

For the Crusader baseball program, it’s deja vu. Wellington continues its nearly two-decade-long streak of not getting to state. And just like last year, errors in the championship game proved to be the team’s demise.

Wellington committed five of them Tuesday night, with four of them coming in the final two innings. The Crusaders were leading Mulvane 1-0 going into the bottom half of the fifth inning before disaster struck.

Wellington committed three errors in the inning alone while also assisting Mulvane runners with a hit-pitch and a passed ball. The bruised Crusaders were down 4-1 going into the top of the sixth and could not score offensively thereafter.

Mulvane scored another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-1 on another Wellington error.

Dusty Bannister was the starting pitcher in the regional championship.

In the end, Wellington never gave up an earned run, and Mulvane matched Wellington’s RBI total of 1. Sadly, four of Mulvane’s five runs came on Wellington’s mistakes.

The Crusaders opened the game scoring its one-and-only run in the top of the second. James Redford and Colton Bannister both singled on, and Redford reached third. Hank Shinliver then used a squeeze play bunt to get Redford home, giving the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.

For the next three innings, both teams’ offenses could do nothing, and Wellington was just six outs away going into the bottom of the fifth.

That inning started well. Starting pitcher Dusty Bannister struck out the first batter. But B. Nelson singled to third. M. Myers was hit by a pitch and Mulvane had runners on first and second with one out.

Then Wellington self-destructed. An error loaded the bases. That set up a fielders’ choice situation to make it 1-1. Wellington still had a chance to get out of the inning intact tied at 1 with two outs.

But a passed ball brought Myers home. A second error at second base brought another runner home to make it 3-1. A third error at centerfield scored another runner. Wellington was in trouble and never recovered.

For the game, Bannister pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two hits, striking out three, and walking three. Milo Elder came in relief and allowed one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts.

Offensively, Nick Giefer got two hits. Mulvane’s pitcher Grey Sanders had a good day staving off Wellington’s offense, striking out 11 players, and walking just one. N. Fevurly finished off the Dukes with two more strikeouts.

Stats: Mulvane 5 Wellington 1 regional championship

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Grady Norris strikes final batter out for win over Clearwater.

In the earlier game, Wellington rallied late to beat the Indians.

Clearwater opened with a 1-0 lead on an error in the top of the first. In the top of the second, Wellington got itself out of a jam after starting pitcher Sky Branam struck out two batters after the Indians loaded the bases with one out.

Wellington scored in the bottom of the fifth after Redford advanced from second to third on a dropped third strike. Branam then reached first on a blooper to the shortstop that brought Redford home to make it 1-1.

That set up the bottom of the sixth in which Reford scores again on a Wyatt Dickey single to centerfield. Dickey eventually reached home on an Emerson Brownlee single.

Branam was the winning pitcher, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing four hits, walking four, and striking out nine. Grady Norris came in for the save with one walk and one strikeout.

Mulvane defeated Andale-Garden Plain 10-9 in a wild first-round game two. That set the regional championship game back to 7:30 p.m. for a relatively late start.

Stats: Wellington 3 Clearwater 1 regional 1st rd regional