KIMBERLY — Sixth-ranked Mortimer Jordan got one step closer to a Class 5A, Area 11 championship on Thursday night with a 10-3 win over Corner.

A three-run first inning set the tone for the Blue Devils (22-8, 4-0). Garrison McCleney started the frame with a walk and later scored on Chase Batchelor’s two-run single into center field. Garrett Green also scored on a passed ball, as Mortimer Jordan went to the second inning with a 3-0 advantage.

“We scored three runs in the first inning. That was huge, especially against a kid [Sam Knowlton] of that caliber. He’s obviously a very good pitcher, he’s got great stuff and having an opportunity to score in the first inning really takes the pressure off us,” said Mortimer Jordan head coach Shayne Carnes.

The home team stretched their lead to 8-0 through three innings. Third baseman Patrick Burkett drove in three of those runs, one in the second and two more in the third. Burkett finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

“He has really swung the bat well the last three or four weeks,” said Carnes of Burkett. “Really, as a team we’ve swung the bats a lot better. We played some really tough competition early. We saw lots of good arms and I think that’s prepared us.”

Each of Corner’s three runs came in the fourth inning, as seven batters went to the plate. Catcher Taylor McCormack and third baseman Cooper Norris connected with back-to-back RBI singles to update the score to 8-3 through four innings of play.

That was all the offense Corner (1-3 in Area 11 play) could manage. The Yellow Jackets finished with only three hits to Mortimer Jordan’s six. Junior pitcher Dalton Hall got the start and tossed seven strikeouts in four innings of work. Sophomore Ian Ellerbrock stepped in to record one out in the fifth before Trent Fletcher took the ball for the remaining 2 2/3 innings.

With the Yellow Jackets’ outfield playing deep in the home-half of the sixth, Mortimer Jordan second baseman Douglas Moore lifted a run-scoring hit into center field for the final run of the game.

“I was really proud of our guys, they had a good approach at the plate,” said Carnes. “We didn’t swing at many balls out of the strike zone, which was one thing we had discussed and didn’t want to do, so I’m very proud of their efforts.”

Corned did go on to win the second game of the doubleheader 5-0, but that contest carried no area implications as Mortimer Jordan took the series 2-0.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.