Abilene Cowboys advance to 4A State Baseball Tournament

By Jackson Schneider May 19, 2023

With a pair of dramatic wins on Thursday, the Abilene Cowboys advanced to the 4A State Baseball Tournament in Salina.

The Cowboys made their first-ever appearance in the Baseball State Tournament a year ago, and have now advanced to Dean Evans Stadium in consecutive years.

Abilene won its opening round Regional contest in a 4-3 thriller over 11th-seed Wellington, pushing the Cowboys to the late-night Regional Final, matched up with the 14th-seed Towanda-Cirle HS, who upset the highest seed in the Regional Bracket, #3 Rose Hill, with a shocking 7-3 win.

In the Regional Final, Abilene tied the game late to force extra innings, and placed the winning-run on base in the bottom the eighth.

That’s when the Cowboys elected to try a squeeze bunt, as Kayson Becker squared up the pitch, dropping it down just a few feet between home plate and the pitcher’s mound. Zach Miller came crashing in from third base, sliding in safely before the tag could be placed, scoring the winning run and lifting Abilene to the 2023 4A State Baseball Tournament.

Now, the Cowboys will turn their attention to their next foe, as the Kansas State High School Activities Association released the official 4A Bracket on Friday.

Abilene, with its record of 15-7 on the year, will be slated as the #5 seed in the bracket, facing off against the #4 seed Fort Scott, who will enter the State Tournament with a record of 16-6 after defeating Parsons 2-1, and Baldwin 4-0 to advance to State in their Regional.

The full bracket and schedule for action, which will begin on Thursday, May 25th at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina can be seen below.

 

THURSDAY GAMES

3:30 PM – [1] Clay Center HS (21-1) vs. [8] Chanute HS (14-8)

5:45 PM – [4] Fort Scott HS (16-6) vs. [5] Abilene HS (15-7)

11:00 AM – [2] St. George-Rock Creek (21-1) vs. [7] Paola HS (14-8)

1:15 PM – [3] McPherson HS vs. [6] Larned/LaCrosse (14-7)

 

FRIDAY GAMES

11:00 AM – Winner of Rock Creek/Paola vs. Winner of McPherson/Larned

1:15 PM – Winner of Clay Center/Chanute vs. Winner of Fort Scott/Abilene

3:30 PM – Third Place Game

5:45 PM – 4A State Championship Game