Blue Valley West Jaguars beat Manhattan for Kansas Class 6A state baseball championship
Senior Kyle Jones’ walkoff single to center ended a competitive 4-3 victory for Blue Valley West over Manhattan on Sunday night at Fort Scott’s LaRoche Baseball Complex, lifting the Jaguars baseball team to the 2022 Kansas Class 6A state championship.
Jones’ hit with two on in the bottom of the seventh scored Sage Huffman from second base as the winning run at Dave Regan Stadium. Senior Jackson Lovich, who will play for the Missouri Tigers next year, was on first at the time after smacking a liner.
Jaguars senior Alex Villegas drove in two runs in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out single. BV West got its first run in the second by stringing together a trio of hits.
The Jaguars’ victory capped a stellar season and bullish run through the state tourney for Blue Valley West (23-2). Top-seeded Blue Valley West and No. 2 seed Manhattan (20-5) each earned semifinal victories earlier on Sunday.
The Joe Allison-coached BV West squad posted a 12-5 win against Washburn Rural and Manhattan advanced by beating Olathe West 8-2 earlier in the afternoon.
Making their second straight trip to the state tournament, the Jaguars opened the tourney with an 8-2 win over Shawnee Mission East in the quarterfinals. BV West had previously beaten Shawnee Mission South 10-0 and Blue Valley 6-3 in the regional tourney.
Blue Valley West also won state baseball titles in 2007 and 2013.
The 6A state championship game, the final event of the 2022 Kansas spring-sports postseason, followed a 13-9 win by Washburn Rural in Sunday’s game for third place. Washburn Rural scored five runs to break an 8-8 tie with Olathe West in the top of the seventh.
In the semifinals, Manhattan scored seven runs in the second inning against Olathe West and led 8-0 entering the sixth before the Owls finally got on the board with a pair of runs.
In the second semifinal, BV West got started with a solo homer by Barrett Donaldson in the bottom of the second and never looked back.
State tournament scores: Kansas baseball
CLASS 6A:
At LaRoche Baseball Complex, Fort Scott
Saturday’s state quarterfinals
Manhattan 3, BV Northwest 2
Olathe West 6, Free State 2
Blue Valley West 8, SM East 2
Washburn Rural 2, Derby 0
Sunday semifinals
Manhattan 8, Olathe West 2
Blue Valley West 12, Washburn Rural 5
Championship
BV West 4, Manhattan 3
Third-place game
Washburn Rural 13, Olathe West 9
CLASS 5A:
At Eck Stadium, Wichita
Thursday’s state quarterfinals
St. Thomas Aquinas 10, Topeka-Seaman 9
Blue Valley Southwest 10, De Soto 0
Bishop Carroll 2, Shawnee Heights 0
Valley Center 6, Eisenhower 5
Friday semifinals, finals
Blue Valley Southwest 12, St. Thomas Aquinas 2
Bishop Carroll 4, Valley Center 3
Cons. final: Aquinas 13, Valley Center 3
Championship: Blue Valley Southwest 5, Bishop Carroll 2
CLASS 4A:
At Dean Evans Stadium, Salina
Thursday’s state quarterfinals
McPherson 7, El Dorado 3
Ottawa 5, Iola 3
Tonganoxie 10, Abilene 5
Paola 5, Clay Center Community 0
Friday semifinals, finals
McPherson 6, Ottawa 1
Tonganoxie 7, Paola 5
Cons. final: Paola 6, Ottawa 0
Championship: McPherson 5, Tonganoxie 2
CLASS 3A:
At K-State, Manhattan
Thursday’s state quarterfinals
Wichita Collegiate 7, Goodland 1
Girard 8, Thomas More Prep 2
Bishop Ward 9, Halstead 0
Columbus 5, Sabetha 4
Friday semifinals, finals
Wichita Collegiate 7, Girard 2
Columbus 9, Bishop Ward 3
Cons. final: Bishop Ward 7, Girard 6
Championship: Wichita Collegiate 10, Columbus 3
CLASS 2-1A:
At Great Bend Sports Complex
Thursday’s state quarterfinals
Colony-Crest 5, St. Mary’s Colgan 3
Little River 7, Elkhart 5
Mission Valley 10, Remington 0
Valley Falls 3, West Elk 1
Friday semifinals, finals
Little River 10, Colony-Crest 8
Mission Valley 14, Valley Falls 4
Cons. final: Valley Falls 16, Colony-Crest 6
Championship: Mission Valley 5, Little River 4
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 4:26 PM.