BATH — The Bath Wildcats punched their ticket to the District 5 ACME baseball final on Thursday night, cruising past Liberty-Benton in a 16-2 win shortened to five innings.

Zach Welsch opened the scoring in the first with a two-run homer to left-center, giving Bath an early 2-0 lead. Alex Walls followed with a two-RBI single in the second, plating Evan Cross and Jacob Lepley to double the advantage. Karson Green added another RBI single in the third, pushing the Wildcats’ lead to 6-0.

Liberty-Benton managed to get on the board thanks to Grayson Wages, whose bunt and an ensuing throwing error allowed Sam Fredritz to score from first. But the Wildcats’ offense proved relentless. Cross returned to the plate in the fourth and singled home Eli Steed and Green to further pad the lead.

Bath’s consistent pressure at the plate and strong pitching secured the mercy-rule victory. The Wildcats will host the District 5 championship game Thursday night on their home field.

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