Linn coach Caleb Thomas said his Wildcats are playing their best baseball of the season at the right time, even if it came with a 3-2 nine-inning loss to Tipton in the California Turf War championship game on Saturday.

“They’re playing our brand of best baseball right now,” Thomas said. “We throw it really well, and we’re not going to make a lot of defensive mistakes. Offense has woken up lately. Finding your stride in late April, that’s about the right time.”

Tipton edged Linn in a nine-inning battle that came down to execution in the final moments.

“We had an absolute dog fight with Tipton that we just didn’t end up on the winning side of,” Thomas said. “We went to extras, and it was going to be who blinked first; we blinked first.”

The Wildcats had a chance to win it late. “We had a chance in the top of the ninth, bases loaded, and it just didn’t pan out,” Thomas said. “We had the right part of the lineup, and it just didn’t go our way.”

Tipton capitalized in the bottom half after Linn issued free passes. “You give up walks in extras, you’re asking for trouble,” Thomas said. “That’s what happened.”

Even in defeat, Thomas pointed to a defining defensive moment that extended the game.

“I want to give a shout-out to Dawson Sprenger,” he said. “He cut down a runner at the plate to end the bottom of the seventh, and we lived to fight for about two more innings.”

Linn controlled much of the game early, building a 2-0 lead in the third inning and holding it deep into regulation before Tipton rallied in the bottom of the seventh.

“We were up in the third inning,” Thomas said. “They scraped together some offense. They had a lot of deep at-bats in the bottom of the seventh. We kept the pressure on long enough.”

The Wildcats began scoring after Hunter Bish (2-4) singled to lead off the third. Gus Peters (2-4) followed with a double. With runners in scoring position, Sprenger grounded out to drive in Bish and push G. Peters to third. That opened the door for Jake Kubiak, who hit a sac fly to plate Linn’s second run for a 2-0 lead.

Peyton Peters, Aaron Starke, Craig Laughlin, Brandt, and Sprenger (RBI) each added a hit for the Wildcats.

On the mound, P. Peters worked 5.2 shutout innings, allowing nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Starke took the loss in relief, giving up two earned runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings with one strikeout.

P. Peters set the tone in the championship game, holding Tipton scoreless into the sixth inning. “He gave up no runs through five and two-thirds and was incredible,” Thomas said. “That’s the mentality—step on the mound every day and compete.”

The team’s defensive consistency has complemented that effort.

“We don’t beat ourselves defensively,” Thomas said. “It’s easy to play defense behind somebody you know is going to compete. All you’ve got to do is make your plays.”

The championship game capped a strong week for Linn, which claimed a victory against Osage to reach the finals after opening the tournament with a win over North Callaway.

After Osage scored a run in the first, the Wildcats responded with four in the second. Starke walked, Laughlin (1-2) reached on a dropped third strike, and Nash Tyree (2-3, 3 RBI) walked to load the bags for Joe Brandt (1-4, triple, 3 RBI), who smashed a triple to center field to plate three. Carson Kempker (RBI) hit a groundout to drive in Brandt, and Linn led 4-1.

Offensively, the push continued in the second inning after P. Peters singled with one out. After Starke and Laughlin again drew walks, a balk sent P. Peters (1-2) home, and then Tyree singled to right field to drive in two more for a 7-1 advantage.

Linn’s final runs came in the fourth. P. Peters drew a one-out walk and stole second. Starke reached on an error that put runners on the corners. Enter Laughlin, whose single drove in P. Peters, and Tyree claimed another hit to plate the ninth run, driving in courtesy runner Dylan Bruemmer (Starke).

Leading 9-3, the Cats got around a pair of seventh-inning runs for a 9-5 win.

On the mound, G. Peters allowed two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks over his five-inning start. Starke struck out one and walked another while allowing two earned runs on two hits in two innings.

In the tournament opener on Thursday, the Wildcats defeated North Callaway, 8-4.

“That was a pretty good win for us,” Thomas said. “They were 12-3 going into that game. That’s just the epitome of our pitching — it keeps us in the ball game, then we explode late.”

Linn scored one in the first and seven in the sixth to run away from the Thunderbirds.

Linn’s offense has evolved from a top-heavy lineup into a more balanced attack. Sprenger led with three singles on the day with an RBI, as Kubiak went 2-4 with a run drive in, and P. Peters (RBI), Laughlin (RBI), Tyree (RBI), and Starke added a hit apiece.

“Our lineup’s starting to get long,” Thomas said. “The bottom half is starting to wake up. We’re not leaning on two or three guys right now. We’ve got five or six piecing together at-bats.”

That approach has been rooted in what Thomas calls “ABC baseball.”

“Get them on, get them over, get them in,” he said. “We’ve been hitting behind runners really well, keeping strikeouts to a minimum. It’s been a nice step in the right direction.”

Aggressive base-running has also become a defining trait.

“We’re trying to force you to make a play,” Thomas said. “You make a play, that’s fine. We’ll cut it down. But until you prove you can make a play, we’re going to make you make one.”

That pressure has translated into run production and momentum.

“When you’re in a lull, and you take that extra bag, that’s a run, and that’s baseball,” he said. “Then when you’re hitting it well, it starts snowballing.”

Pitching, however, remains the foundation of Linn’s success.

“Pitching will keep us in ball games,” Thomas said. “Our pitching can keep us in any ball game we want to be in.”

He highlighted the consistency across the staff.

“We pitch the crap out of it,” Thomas said. “All four of them—Peyton, Gus, Dawson, and Aaron—have thrown 20-plus innings, and I don’t think I have one above a three ERA.”

Against NC, Sprenger’s four-inning start on the mound ended with four strikeouts and six walks as he allowed two earned runs on six hits. In three relief innings, Starke gave up one earned run on one hit.

Last Tuesday, the Wildcats knocked off CS8 rival Harrisburg, 11-1, in five innings.

Linn got on the board in the bottom of the first inning after P. Peters (2-3, 3 RBI) grounded out, and Kubiak (1-2) stole home. In the bottom of the second, Sprenger (1-2) drew a walk, scoring one run. An error scored two more, and P. Peters singled again, plating Linn’s sixth run.

Linn scored five more in the bottom of the fourth to make it 11-1, and held on to end the game in the bottom of the frame.

Laughlin also had a single.

G. Peters stepped on the hill for Linn, allowing one earned run on five in a complete game, striking out five and walking two.

Linn has won seven of its last nine games, building confidence against a challenging stretch of opponents.

“We’re a little ahead of schedule with some stuff,” Thomas said. “It’s a young group that figured out some things really quickly.”

That growth has shown against larger schools as well.

“They’re starting to realize teams are aware of you now,” Thomas said. “You’ve made enough noise. They know they’re going to have to play.”

In last Tuesday’s JV game, Linn lost to the Bulldogs, 3-0.

Kempker and Tyree each had a hit for the Wildcats. On the mound, Kempker got the start and went 1.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits, with two strikeouts and three walks. In relief, Austin Royston struck out three and walked one while disallowing a hit.

Thomas is pleased with the younger team’s development. “With our sophomores, some guys are really starting to learn the game a little bit,” he said. “Some of the freshmen are starting to get more reps, and doing some good things. And then the other thing is, the sophomores, out of necessity, have to go down and play JV. They get some experience playing another position and having to lead, that was a big part that we talked about with them being down there.”

Thomas added that pitching has been competitive on the JV mound, and that helps strengthen the varsity bullpen. “We have such strong varsity pitching that we haven’t had to lean on our JV guys,” he noted. “That allows them to continue pitching at their level and keep developing.”