MIZE – The West Lincoln Bears fell to the Mize Bulldogs 9-4 Monday night in the third game of the best-of-three series in the opening round of the Class 2A baseball playoffs.

“This was a disappointing finish to the season in my eyes,” said West Lincoln coach David Gilbert. “I really feel like we were ready to take the next step in this program but I was proven wrong.

“We let seven errors beat us early in the game, and no team should win with that many errors,” said Gilbert. “On a positive note, my guys never quit fighting for me throughout this year. We had our ups and downs, but my guys never quit fighting and I am proud of that. We will return most of our core guys for next season and all of our pitching, so I am looking forward to what the 2017 Bears have to offer.”

The Bears wrap up the season with a 14-11 record overall.

Mize 9, West Lincoln 4 

Seth Bivens did all he could at the plate and on the mound to give West Lincoln a boost, but it wasn’t enough to get past Mize in the end.

Bivens racked up three RBIs on one hit in the first inning with a homerun to give West Lincoln an early 3-0 lead.

Mize battled back and took over the lead in the third inning, scoring four runs to secure a 5-3 lead. The Bulldogs added to their lead in the fourth and fifth innings with a 4-0 run to secure a 9-3 advantage.

West Lincoln would score its last run in the seventh inning on a solo homerun by Turner Pyles, but it wasn’t enough as Mize held on for the win.

Kylar Fielder suffered the setback on the rubber for West Lincoln. He allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings, walked one and struck out four. Daniel Spears (2K, 0BB and Seth Bivens (2K, 0BB) also pitched in relief.

Seth Bivens directed West Lincoln with a three-run homerun. Turner Pyles contributed a solo homerun. Daniel Spears, Gabe Nations and Nathanael Addison provided a single each.