<p>Four weeks after it began, Indian Creek’s showdown with Greenwood in the opening round of the Johnson County baseball tournament reached its conclusion on Friday.</p>
<p>The wait was well worth it for the Braves, who finally advanced with a 5-0 victory over the host Woodmen. Dustin Sprong finished off a combined two-hit shutout in relief of Trevor Ankney, who was on the mound when the game began on April 6.</p>
<p>Indian Creek (14-2) will play a semifinal game at Center Grove next Friday at 5 p.m., with Franklin awaiting the winner. The Trojans and Grizzly Cubs have a game scheduled for next Friday night that would double as the championship if Center Grove advances.</p>
<p>Up 4-0 when the game was interrupted by snow last month, the Braves stretched that lead the first chance they got on Friday when Wyatt Phillips plated Devyn Parr with a double to the wall in right center.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>"I saw a lot of pitches that at-bat," said Phillips, who had two hits on the day. "I just did what I could to stay in the at-bat."</p>
<p>Indian Creek couldn’t tack on any more runs, leaving a pair on base in the seventh, but it also didn’t need any.</p>
<p>Sprong started the day having inherited a four-run lead but also a pair of baserunners with nobody out in the third inning and the meat of the Greenwood order due up. He managed to wiggle away unscathed, then yielded just two walks and an infield hit the rest of the way to finish it off.</p>
<p>"I thought he did a great job of getting us out of that jam," Indian Creek coach Steve Mirizzi said. "That was kind of the turning point of today, to just set the tone, and then we get back into our little groove of playing good baseball as of late."</p>
<p>T.J. Bass went the distance in defeat for the Woodmen (4-13). He struck out seven while allowing seven hits and three walks, and he kept the Braves in check for much of Friday. Greenwood’s offense just couldn’t get a rally going after letting the third-inning opportunity slip away.</p>
<p>"I felt like with the situation of first and second, nobody out and our 3-4-5 hitters coming up, we needed to do something that inning," Greenwood coach Andy Bass said. "Tip the hat to (Sprong); he threw a nice game. Both of them — Trevor the first one and Dustin tonight."</p>
<p>The win was the ninth in a row for the Braves, who feel pretty confident coming into the late stages of the season.</p>
<p>"I think we’ve got one of the top teams in the state, and it’s going to be hard to beat us," Phillips said.</p>
