Westbrook Christian’s Wil Chadwick admitted he’s been through some hitting struggles in the last few weeks.

He didn’t bring them to Jim Case Stadium on Monday.

The sophomore blooped a key two-out, three-run double in the fifth inning to give the eighth-ranked Warriors the lead for good on the way to an 11-5 victory over No. 2 Thomasville in Game 1 of the Class 3A championship series.

“I’ve struggled a bit in the last three weeks,” Chadwick said. “I’ve worked to get back to where I need to be.”

He finished with four RBIs for Westbrook (25-11). The Warriors will try to win their second state title Tuesday. Game 2 in the best-of-three is set for 10 a.m. Thomasville (30-5) will send big Charles Morris to the mound to try to force the “if” game.

Neither coach was thrilled with the way their teams played in the opener. Despite winning, Westbrook walked four batters and committed three errors. Thomasville walked 11.

“We’ve got to play a little better baseball,” Westbrook coach Jerry Windle said. “Some things went our way today. We had a couple of innings where we were shaky defensively. Our guys just continue to fight and battle through. I think maybe it was nerves at the beginning.”

Westbrook scored four times each in the fifth and sixth innings to take command after trailing 3-2. Chadwick’s bases-loaded double gave the Warriors a 5-3 lead and Noah Wright’s RBI single made it 6-3.

“I couldn’t tell you what the pitch was,” Chadwick said. “I just saw the ball and hit it.”

Thomasville clawed back to within 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth on Morris’ 99 mph, two-run triple to right center, but the Warriors cut down pinch-runner B.J. Cheeseboro at home on a double-steal attempt to end the inning. They put the game away in the sixth.

“We didn’t pitch it very well,” Thomasville coach Clint Anderson said. “I think we had 11 or 12 walks and two hit batters. When you couple that with a couple of errors, it didn’t give us much chance to win.”

Starter Dylan Rainey got the win for Westbrook. He threw 115 pitches, allowing seven hits and five runs – three of which were earned. Bo Kilgo got the final four outs.

“I didn’t have my best stuff,” said Rainey, who improved to 7-0. “I wasn’t in the zone early. I worked behind all day. It is kind of hard to put my finger on one particular thing. They fouled out some tough pitches.”

Starter Beau Bryant, the first of three Thomasville pitchers, took the loss. He gave up four runs on only two hits in 4.2 innings. He walked six.

Key stats: Westbrook – Brady Carden was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Wright finished with two RBIs. Thomasville – Morris was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Dallas Bryant was 3-for-3 with an RBI.

Did you know: Thomasville lost for the first time in the playoffs. The Tigers swept the first four rounds.

They said it:

“Dylan didn’t have his best stuff. He’s had two or three outings where he didn’t have his best stuff. When you don’t have that and you still go out and battle and keep your team in it, that is a sign not — only of a great pitcher — but a really good, strong young man that is going to be a great older man.” – Windle.

“For the last three or four weeks, we get up as a team and get in God’s word and prepare spiritually as well as physically. The difference is this team is becoming young men who love the Lord and will fight until they have nothing left in them. I believe that is a big part of what is happening for us.” – Windle.

“Offensively, we gave ourselves a chance. We had some quality at-bats and some key hits. We got within a run there when Charles came up with the big hit. That is when we have to go back out and fill up the zone and we didn’t. Our guys compete, and we are going to do that. They are competitors and they want to win and will play until the last pitch.” – Anderson.

“It was a fastball. It was the first one he put over the plate to me. The rest were sliders. I didn’t miss it.” – Morris on his triple.

Next up: Game 2 is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Jim Case Stadium. Game 3 would follow if Thomasville wins.