RICHMOND – The Linsly baseball team’s grand finale was worth the wait.

Linsly – the No. 3 seed – and No. 1 seed Indian Creek were deadlocked at 4 heading into the top of the seventh winning when the Cadets plated five runs before an out was recorded in the inning en route to a 12-5 victory in the OVAC Class 4A Tournament Final on a chilly and rainy Saturday afternoon out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

“It feels great,” Linsly (15-6-1) head coach Jay Cartwright said about winning the tournament title. “We lost the last couple of years. Two years ago, we lost to Wheeling Central in the final. Last year, we lost to Martins Ferry in the semifinals. I am really proud of the team.

“Sylus Hyde pitched a heck of a game. He kept us off-balance. We got some big hits when we needed to, and we were able to break the game open. We had good at-bats up-and-down the lineup.”

The boys from Jefferson County erased a 4-1 deficit by tallying three runs in the home half of the fifth, but they were unable to overcome the Cadets’ eight-run outburst in the seventh.

“We got down, and we fought back and tied the game,” Indian Creek (16-3) head coach Mike Cottis said. “It was a good game. It just didn’t go our way. That’s baseball. They had that big inning. There was nothing we could do.”

The boys from Ohio County tallied eight runs on five hits in the seventh while also taking advantage of two walks, a hit batsman and an error.

“The top of the seventh is a good time to have an eight-run inning,” Cartwright said. “The guys hot the ball well. We made solid contact. We have the ability to hit the ball. We did not have many bad at-bats. We are able to barrel the ball up.”

Tucker Doty went the distance to record the win on the mound for the boys in black. Doty struck out four and walked four. He allowed five runs on five hits.

The boys in white used three pitchers on the day. Hyde started and ended up with a no-decision. Hyde pitched the first six innings. He ended the game with four strikeouts and five walks. Gavin Pownall came on in relief in the seventh, and he was saddled with the loss. Pownall did not record an out as he walked two in his stint on the mound. Parker Heath relieved Pownall during the seventh, and he pitched the rest of the game. Heath struck out two without walking a batter.

“Sylus pitched a great game,” Cottis said. “He kept us in the game. They got some big hits. We made some mistakes. We had one bad inning. It was just not one thing today. We had a lot of opportunities today, but we just didn’t take advantage of them.”

The victors doubled up the Redskins in the hits category as Linsly finished the game with 10 – two of which went for extra bases. Indian Creek also collected two extra-base hits.

Offensively for Linsly, Chris Upton contributed a single, a triple and three RBI, Preston Hartley tallied a single and three RBI and Jaxon Murray recorded a double and an RBI. Also, Dom Fato and Gerardo Vargas Echavarria each delivered two singles and an RBI, Vinny Gorence ended up with a single and two RBI and Rhyder Dlesk collected a single.

For Indian Creek, Hyde delivered a single, a home run and three RBI, Pownall produced a double and Garrin Clark collected a single and an RBI. Also, Logan Wedlake tallied a single, and James Brothers recorded an RBI.

The Orange-and-Black collected two runs in the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Indian Creek answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the inning to make the score, 2-1. Linsly then tacked on a run in the fourth and another in the fifth to increase its advantage out to 4-1.

The Redskins recorded three runs in their half of the fifth to knot the score at 4. Indian Creek only had one hit in the inning. The team was helped by a pair of walks and an error.

“We helped them out,” Cartwright said. “We should have made the play on defense. They had a big inning. That’s high school baseball. We came back and made the plays. We kept playing. We have four seniors – (Donavan Jones), Vargas, Doty and Murray. We’re going to miss all of them.”

Indian Creek is scheduled to play St. Clairsville at 5:35 p.m. Monday at home up at Muth Field.

“We have got bigger games ahead,” Cottis said. “We have to refocus. We have two weeks left to play in the regular season.”

The game was the final one of the season for Linsly.