SULPHUR — Peyton Woods knew exactly what he wanted. The Doyle senior had the pitches and the run support to do it.
Woods tossed a two-hitter, struck out seven and had two hits, leading the third-seeded Tigers to a 3-1 victory over South Beauregard in a Division III nonselect semifinal that helped jump start Wednesday’s action at the LHSAA state baseball tournament.
“I threw a fastball, curveball, knuckleball, change up and a side arm fastball,” Woods said. “I found my curveball early, my fastball was a little snappy and I just trusted my defense. This is my senior year … nothing means more than getting back to the finals.”
With the win, Doyle (27-8) advances to an LHSAA title game for the fourth straight season, seeking its first title.
The Tigers face fifth-seeded Berwick (20-14) in the final set for 5 p.m. Friday on Field 41 at McMurry Park. The Panthers ousted top-seeded Kinder 4-1 in their semifinal.
Woods’ delivery and ability to change speeds, seemingly at will, kept the No. 2 Knights (28-7) out of sync all afternoon once the rain/lightning subsided for a couple of hours.
The start could have been a rocky one. Umpires stopped play in the early innings to tell Woods his delivery had to be one continuous motion.
Instead of getting rattled, Woods (11-0) continued to rock and fire strikes while throwing 110 pitches. A two-run second inning for the Tigers also was pivotal.
SBHS’ Jace Duhon retired the first three Doyle batters. Caiden Barcia and Dru Beatty opened the top of the second with hits. An error brought Barcia in to score and a ground out scored Beatty.
“I thought it was going to come down to pitching, defense and putting the ball in play,” Doyle coach Tim Beatty said. “Any time Peyton is on the mound we’ve got a good chance to win the baseball game.
“We were able to put the ball in play and they (South Beauregard) couldn’t. Plus, we had a couple big defensive plays.”
Doyle added a run in the fourth. Jace Ware singled and went to third on a double by Conner Reeves. Cody Lovett’s squeeze bunt scored Ware.
Woods, a Jones County Community College commitment, retired eight of the first nine batters he faced along with eight of the final 10. Catcher Easton Benesta threw out runner trying to steal second in the sixth.
“When they were able to score two in that one inning, they got the momentum and set the tone,” SBHS coach Jeremy Deville said. “They found ways to score. The ball did not fall our way today. Their pitcher … he did an outstanding job.”
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