NEOSHO--Sean McCann tossed a three-hitter to power the Milton Raptors to victory in the Rock River League playoffs on Saturday.
McCann went the distance in the 5-1 victory over the Neosho Rockets. He struck out eight batters and walked four.
“That’s one of the best hitting teams in the league,” Milton coach Doug Welch said. “It’s a tough place to play, and he pitched a really good game. They couldn’t catch up to his fastball.”
Milton got on the scoreboard early as T.J. Klawitter singled and scored on Josh Shere’s single. It was the first of four hits for Klawitter.
With the game tied 1-1 in the sixth, the Raptors regained the lead when Tyler Allison drove in Joe Shere on a sacrifice fly.
The elder Shere brother went 3-for-5 at the plate, including an RBI double in the seventh.
The Raptors padded their lead in the eighth with a run-scoring double by Jesse Sirianni.
They’ll host top-seeded Watertown today at 1:30 p.m. at Schilberg Park. Watertown, which beat Milton in the teams’ regular-season meeting, lost 1-0 to Clyman on Saturday.
MILTON 5, NEOSHO 1
Milton 100 001 210—5 13 0
Neosho 000 100 000—1 3 1
McCann and Allison; Bemis, Suhr (8) and Egnarski.
Leading hitters—T.J. Klawitter (M) 4x5; Joe Shere (M) 3x5; Sirianni (M) 2x4. 2B—Joe Shere (M), Sirianni (M).
SO—McCann 8, Bemis 2, Suhr 1. BB—McCann 4, Bemis 4.