O’NEILL — Solid pitching and defense helped Wayne throughout the B-5 area tournament, as they capped it with a 5-3 win over Lakeview Monday to win the Class B Area 5 title at Letheby Field.
Wayne got on the board in the third inning when Jacob Kneifl singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gunnar Jorgensen, but Lakeview got a run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1.
Wayne broke the game open in the fifth, as Tyler Gilliland came through with the bases loaded by knocking a two-run single, and Brock Hopkins and Gilliland came home on wild pitches to make it a 5-1 game.
Kneifl came on in relief of Josh Lutt and gave up two runs, but Kaleb Anderson hauled in the final out on a fly ball to center field to give the 17-11 Juniors the championship.
Reid Korth led Wayne’s offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. Lutt pitched six strong innings to get the win and send Wayne to the state tournament, which begins Saturday in Nebraska City.
The schedule for the state tournament will be announced on Wednesday. Wayne will play the Area 4 champion in the first game of the double-elimination tournament.
