1A State Baseball: Richardson powers Woodlawn to second straight title

FAYETTEVILLE -- Woodlawn (34-1) putting away Taylor, 13-1, earlier this month worried Bears coach Tommy Richardson as the teams again met in the class 1A finals Friday evening.

Any doubts he had were quickly put on the backburner as Woodlawn earned its second consecutive state championship, first in 1A, with a 13-3 win against the Tigers at Baum Stadium.

Richardson's son, Will, was the star of the show on the mound and at the plate. Richardson earned MVP honors, and rightfully so, after a 3-for-4, six-RBI night, including the game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the run rule into effect.

It was the second bomb of the night for Richardson, who also laced a two-run shot over the home bullpen in the second inning.

"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."

The Bears' coach said it was Woodlawn's goal when the season began to go back-to-back at Baum.

"We've never gone back-to-back, 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-to-back. That's always eluded us. Taylor never made it easy for us. We had to pitch our little rear ends off."

Richardson's second home run of the night ended the night and capped a memorable year for Woodlawn, who ended its season winners of its last 29 ballgames. The Bears' lone loss of the season came in early March against Springdale High.

Nick Willis, Reece Michels and Nick Ward also drove in runs in the win for Woodlawn. The Bears committed an uncharacteristic five errors, but were able to overcome them thanks to Richardson's magical night.

Sports on 05/20/2017