Every time there is a question about Baylor baseball’s pitching depth, Will Stansell steps out of the shadows.

The sophomore improved to 5-0 and pitched his second championship win of the season as the Red Raiders beat Father Ryan 9-5. The victory was their 31st in 37 games, gave them a Division II-AA sectional title and punched their ticket to next week’s four-team state tournament in Murfreesboro.

“Stansell did a magnificent job,” Baylor coach Gene Etter said.

He responded to opportunity with the Red Raiders needing a win to clinch the best two-of-three series and continue their season. They were humbled 15-1 in five innings in the series opener, and their ace, Tyler Massey, was knocked out of that game after just three innings. Baylor rebounded to tie the series later Friday night with a 17-5, six-inning win behind junior Charles Riemer, setting up Saturday’s opportunity.

Stansell, who pitched a Scenic City Classic championship shutout over Region 3-AAA champion Red Bank earlier this year, also kept himself in the game, tying the score at 1 with a second-inning home run.

“If was fitting that he hit the homer because of how well he pitched. It was his day to shine,” Etter said.

Massey gave Stansell a 2-1 lead with a solo shot to right-center in the fourth.

“Most of the series they had been throwing me inside,” the University of Virginia signee said. “I was more aggressive, and I was more relaxed, and I was fortunate to turn on it and hit it pretty square.”

Stansell gave up an unearned run in the first but nursed the lead through the sixth inning. After allowing two hits in the first, he surrendered only one from the second through sixth innings and went 1-2-3 in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth. He was lifted with one out in the seventh after giving up two hits and three earned runs.

“I had better-than-normal control of my changeup, and I hit my spots pretty well,” he said. “I got a little tired at the end.”

The Red Raiders gave him some breathing room in the sixth. Held to three hits through the first five innings, they scored seven runs on eight hits, including two-run singles by Massey and Zeth Stone and RBI hits from Isaac Edmonds, James Feher and Riemer.

“Most of the time we beat ourselves,” Massey said. “When we stay relaxed, calm and confident, we’re tough to beat. We were pressing in that first game. I know I was, and it was big to have younger guys like Will and Charles and Josh Ernest step up.”

Ernest, another sophomore, pitched the last two outs of the seventh to preserve the victory.

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