Bears put whipping on Tigers

FAYETTEVILLE — Woodlawn Coach Tommy Richardson had some concerns heading into Friday night’s Class 1A championship game against Taylor, especially considering how easily the Bears beat the Tigers earlier this month.

Any questions Richardson had about overconfidence were quickly put away as Woodlawn (34-1) earned its second consecutive championship, first in Class 1A, with a 13-3 victory at Baum Stadium.

Richardson’s son, Will, earned MVP honors, going 3 for 4 with 6 RBI, including a game-clinching three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the 10-run rule into effect.

Richardson also homered in the second inning, when he hit a two-run shot into the leftfield bullpen.

“I can’t really describe what just happened,” Richardson said. “It’s just a blessing. I can’t put words on it. I’ve got to give all the credit to my teammates for giving me the opportunity. It wasn’t my doing, it was them.”

Coach Richardson said it was Woodlawn’s goal when the season began to go backto-back at Baum.

“We’ve never gone back-toback, so I can’t comment on that,” Richardson said with a smile. “I’m excited. We’ve been here a lot of times, but we’ve never gone back-toback. That’s always eluded us. Taylor never made it easy for us. We had to pitch our little rear ends off.”

Woodlawn ended the season on a 29-game winning streak, its only loss coming in early March against Class 7A Springdale.