BROCTON — Tuesday, the Brocton Bulldogs proved why they deserved the No. 1 seed in the Class D playoffs.

In a quarterfinal high school baseball matchup with the Sherman Wildcats, the Brocton Bulldogs came away with a dominant 11-0 win at Brocton High School on Tuesday evening.

“We feel great,” said Brocton interim coach Ray Rosas. “We told the kids that no matter the seeding, no matter who we were playing, we had to push right until the end, to keep going every inning and score as much as we can.”

Brocton (14-2) faced a familiar foe in Sherman — a team the Bulldogs defeated twice in league play earlier this year. Brocton tabbed ace pitcher Ronald “Bubba” Brown as Tuesday’s starter. He did not disappoint.

Brown faced five batters in the top of the first inning, striking out three and leaving two runners on base. In the bottom half of the first, Brown was robbed of an extra base hit on a diving catch from Sherman centerfielder Derek Sears, which would have likely scored the first run of the game. In the second inning, Brown set down the Wildcats in order, with strikeouts to start and to finish the inning.

In the bottom of the second frame, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with an RBI single from Gabe Rosas. Later in the inning, Hunter Rizzo hit a two-run double and Jordan Krystofiak had an RBI single to push the score to 4-0 in favor of Brocton after two innings.

“It feels good to actually produce. After the first inning, we put the bat on the ball and good things were happening,” said Coach Rosas.

Brown set down the Wildcats in order again in the third. Just as he did in the second, Brown struck out the first and last batters of the inning. The Bulldogs also failed to score in the inning, keeping the score at 4-0 after three frames. Brown added two more strikeouts in the fourth inning, making it a total of nine strikeouts over four innings of work.

In the bottom half of the fourth, the Bulldogs had the leadoff hitter, Rizzo, reach base on an error. Then, with two outs, Brown came to the plate against Sherman pitcher Mike Beatman. Brown drilled a pitch deep to left field and over the fence for a two-run home run and a 6-0 lead.

“When I hit it, it felt pretty good off the bat,” said Brown. “I definitely thought it had a chance, but I was running hard just in case.”

The home run settled a friendly deal between the Bulldogs and Coach Rosas. The coach offered to buy dinner if a player hit a home run — and hosting a playoff game as the top seed in Class D, Brown picked a perfect time to do it.

“I knew it was out off the bat,” said Coach Rosas. “The only reason I would even question it is because I promised these guys that if someone would hit a home run this season, I would take them out to dinner. So that cost me, but it’s a good cost, and it couldn’t happen to a better kid.”

After the inning, Brown was removed from the mound in order to keep his pitch count low enough that he would be eligible for the team’s next playoff game. In addition to Brown’s nine strikeouts over four shutout innings, he only allowed three baserunners, and only one after the first inning. Rizzo came in to pitch a scoreless fifth inning in relief.

“I was just able to throw strikes and let my teammates play. Fortunately we got the win,” said Brown. “Today definitely brings up my confidence. I think it will help our team because we all play well together. I feel like it will bring more energy to the next game.”

Brown came through for Brocton in its biggest moment of the year to date. Coach Rosas expected nothing less.

“Ronald ‘Bubba’ Brown has been there for us all year,” said Coach Rosas. “We’ve been riding his back all year … and we plan on doing that all the way until the end.”

Brocton added five runs in the fifth inning. Gabe Rosas hit his second RBI single of the game, Gabe Morello added a two-run single, and Rizzo hit an RBI triple and came in to score in a rundown between third and home plate. Rizzo dove head-first into home plate for the run. Rizzo jumped up smiling after scoring the run, shrugging his shoulders at his cackling coach at third.

“That play (was all) emotion,” said Coach Rosas. “He got caught off guard, but he made it home, so we made them make plays, I guess. Is it something I’d really like to do every day, no, but it worked, so you can’t really get down on it.”

After the play, Sherman coach Cory Emory called an end to the contest, as the losing team in the playoffs has to choose to put the mercy rule in effect.

“I do thank Coach Emory to do that, to help save our arms,” said Coach Rosas. “That was great on their part.”

The Bulldogs will now host the winner of Pine Valley and Franklinville, on Thursday in Brocton.

“We’re up for the challenge,” said Coach Rosas. “We feel confident that if we play Brocton baseball that we’ll be in the game.”

Brocton made a statement with the win on Tuesday. The Bulldogs looked like the team that won every league game it played this season. Now the Bulldogs are one home victory away from a spot in the Class D championship game.

Twitter: @bradencarmen