It's Kansas against Nebraska
The Omaha Patriots and Wichita Cardinals advanced to the championship game in the National Baseball Congress "Hap" Dumont 14-under World Series in Brainerd.
On Wednesday, Omaha stunned the previously unbeaten Iowa All-Stars 10-0 while once-beaten Wichita advanced following a 6-0 win over the Memphis Travelers and eliminated Iowa with a 2-1 victory.
Omaha and Wichita were scheduled to play for the title 10 a.m. today at Mills Field with Omaha needing to win one game to be champion.
Wednesday's Games
Wichita Cardinals 6,
Memphis Travelers 0
Andrew Witherspoon came through in the clutch for Wichita, throwing a complete game four-hit shutout, saving the Cardinals from elimination.
Witherspoon's masterful performance ended the Travelers' run in the tournament. Ricky Young went 3-3 and Tyler Gerstenkow 3-4 as the Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals.
Omaha Patriots 10,
Iowa All-Stars 0
Alex Mayhan's complete-game shutout helped the Patriots dismantle the favored All-Stars.
Omaha's shocking upset catapulted it into the championship game Thursday morning at Mills Field. Iowa's loss was its first defeat in the tournament, a stretch in which it had accumulated a 6-0 record.
Wichita Cardinals 2,
Iowa North Stars 1
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Wichita Cardinals pitcher Brock Fleming breezed through the North Stars' lineup, logging a complete game, in the second upset loss in a row for the All-Stars.
Iowa's offense, which had averaged nearly 10 runs a game in its first six contests of the tournament, inexplicably disappeared when the stakes grew higher, scoring one run in its final two losses, sending the Stars packing.
The Cardinals, conversely, shined as the pressure mounted. Faced with elimination all day -- they had already lost in bracket play -- they won three straight games.
Wichita moved into the championship game against Omaha. The Cardinals will need to win consecutive games against the Patriots to emerge as champions.
Correction/
clarification
It was incorrectly reported in Wednesday's Dispatch that Cody Peterson of the Northeast Nebraska All-Stars hit a 3-run homer against Oklahoma Tuesday. Peterson hit a grand slam. The Dispatch regrets the error.