Tri-Cities Prep picks up 2B baseball crown

It was the matchup Tri-Cities Prep wanted, and it wasted no time in letting Brewster know who was in charge.

Max Nelson drove in three runs, and Logan Mercado struck out seven as the Jaguars beat the Bears 14-7 on Saturday to win their first 2B state baseball title.

"It was the perfect rematch," Prep coach Jason Jarrett said, noting Brewster beat them for the district title. "We could not have asked for a better game to play. We did not back down. We jumped out with four runs in the first, got the momentum and just kept rolling."

The Jaguars (25-2) jumped out to an early lead, getting a two-run triple by Nelson and an RBI single by Mercado for a 3-0 lead with no outs in the top of the third inning.

Brewster got two runs back in the bottom of the second for a 4-2 game. Both teams scored three runs in the fifth, but Prep would outscore the Bears 7-2 over the final two innings.

"Our one-through-six guys tore it up," Jarrett said. "It was a lot of fun. Exciting thing is, they are all coming back next year. They want to be back here next year. We have the bull's-eye on our back; we have to keep improving."

Cole Hiett drove in four runs, Landon Amato had three RBIs, and David Grewe hit three singles and scored four times for Prep.

Quincy Vassar took the loss for Brewster. He went 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.

• Annie Fowler: 582-1574; @tchicequeen

This story was originally published May 27, 2018 at 12:26 AM with the headline "Tri-Cities Prep picks up 2B baseball crown."