EDDYVILLE — Two teams headed in opposite directions continued down their paths in a Class 2A District 14 playoff game Tuesday night.
For Albia, which entered having won 12 of its last 13 games, that was good news.
For Prairie City-Monroe, not so much.
Albia jumped on PCM early and scored in each of the first four innings in route to an 11-7 victory.
The Blue Demons roughed up PCM starting pitcher Austin Brown, who had his worst outing of the season at the worst possible time for the Mustangs. Brown gave up a season-high nine hits in four innings, which tied for his shortest outing of the year. The sophomore also yielded four earned runs, which also tied a season high.
Trailing 8-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Mustangs cut their deficit to 8-5 in the inning. That was as close as PCM would get to Albia (19-18) in its comeback attempt.
Five Mustangs had two hits. PCM finished with 12 for the game. Mustang designated-hitter Chase Keuning led his team at the plate with a home run and three RBI. Senior Dillon Bruxvoort also homered in a two-hit performance.
The loss capped a disappointing finish to PCM’s finish as the Mustangs (11-15) lost five of their final six games.
Albia, which was 7-17 on June 21, will play Davis County Saturday night for a spot in the 2A state tournament.