, which helped me succeed.”
Independence’s defense also contributed with key plays all over the field.
“Connor Blum played great defensively and we had some great outfield play tracking down fly balls,” Crooks said. “They can hit and we made some great plays. Evan Beacher made some great plays at second base as well.”
With the win, Independence improved to 10-4 overall and 8-2 in league play. Beachwood dropped to 11-8, 7-3.
Several scenarios exist for both teams to win the conference title.
Independence controls its own destiny and can win the title outright with a win at Beachwood on Tuesday. Should the Blue Devils lose to the Bison in the second game of the series, they’d have to beat Trinity in the conference finale and root for Beachwood to lose to Brooklyn to win the title outright. A split in their final two games earns them at least a share of the title.
Beachwood can win the conference title outright with a win over the Blue Devils on Tuesday and a win over Brooklyn coupled with an Independence loss to Trinity. The Bison can earn a share of the title with wins over Independence and Brooklyn and an Independence win over Trinity.