LocalSportsJournal.com

Mason County Central nipped Shelby 5-4 to capture a Division 3 district baseball title in Hart on Monday.

The game needed eight innings to decide a winner.

Mason County Central beat Hart 12-1 to advance to the district final, while Shelby advanced by beating Hesperia 3-0 in the other semifinal.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, but were unable to hang on.

Mason County Central responded in the second inning with a run of its own to cut the deficit to 4-1. The Spartans scored another run in the fourth before tying it up in the seventh with two runs. That forced extra innings.

In the eighth inning, the Spartans were able to scrape across a run and walk off as district champions.

Austin McDougall and John Wittlieff each had two hits for the Spartans.

The Tigers were led by Casey DeWitt with two hits.

Both Chris Josephson of Shelby and Sean Wells of Mason County Central went the distance on the mound.