ALBANY - Merik Meythaler had just pitched seven sterling innings of two-hit baseball - and with a painful hip to boot.

The junior right-hander was tired, but not too fatigued to give a quick history lesson on Black Hawk baseball and exactly what Tuesday's 13-3 victory against Albany in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal meant.

"The last three years we've had two wins, three wins and four wins in baseball. Nine wins combined the last three years," Meythaler said. "This year we have 10. I mean, that's outstanding.

"Black Hawk baseball hasn't been great in a while. To get back to the regional final is great for our school."

Meythaler's adjective of choice - outstanding - certainly described his effort and that of a lineup that produced 15 hits. The Warriors (10-15) advance to today's 5 p.m. regional championship game at perennial state powerhouse Burlington Catholic Central.

Albany collected its two hits and drew the only two walks Meythaler would issue in the third inning, when the Comets scored three runs to pull within 5-3.

But Meythaler faced just one batter over the minimum in the other six innings, completely shutting down an Albany team he had pitched twice against during the regular season. He got the win in a 6-5 triumph against Albany in South Wayne and took the loss in a 2-1 decision in Albany.

"I really did think if they threw Merik - we'd seen him twice before, so I thought we'd have a leg up maybe," Albany coach Brandon Bakken said. "For whatever reason, we couldn't pick up his pitches."

"We know Merik can do that," Black Hawk coach Justin Doyle said. "Last year, all we wanted from him were strikes. Now, he's progressed to the point where we can talk about the strategy behind the (pitch) and hitting his spots. He's hitting his spots and thinking about where he's going to place it. He's not going to overpower you. He doesn't walk people and he lets his teammates make plays."

With Meythaler cruising on the hill, the Warriors went to work against Albany left-hander Cody Schultz.

Juniors Logan Stietz (3-for-5, 2 RBIs) and Mike Powers (3-for-4, 2 RBIS) had big games in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the Black Hawk order, while junior Cory Rupnow (2-for-5, 2 RBIs), senior Patrick Mahoney (2-for-5), Meythaler (2-for-5, RBI) and freshman Tayler Rupnow (2-for-4, RBI) all had multiple hits.

Black Hawk took a 6-3 lead into the seventh inning, then erupted for seven runs on five hits and two walks as 11 batters went to the plate against Schultz (eight strikeouts, four walks). Cory Rupnow had a two-run single and Powers followed with a two-run double to put the Comets away.

"We knew we could hit the crap out of the ball, and boy, we hit it," Doyle said. "Powers, his batting stance, he doesn't use any of his lower body. It's just hands and he powers it. Logan always puts the ball in play and you never know what's going to happen. Cory Rupnow always hits the ball hard."

Doyle went on to say something positive about every member of the Warriors' starting lineup.

"This is awesome," Doyle said. "A year ago, did I think we'd be here? No. Not even close. But the boys put in the time and effort before we even started (practice). They wanted to play ball. And they've put a bunch of effort in throughout the season."

Next up for Black Hawk is a Catholic Central team which has won two straight Division 4 state titles and five championships in the state's smallest division since 2004. That said, Meythaler pointed out Catholic Central "had a little trouble with Monticello" before defeating the Warriors' fellow Six Rivers East member 7-6 on Tuesday.

"Hopefully we can give them a little trouble and beat them," Meythaler said.

The Comets finish 8-15 in Bakken's first season at the helm.

Albany committed five errors Tuesday.

"I thought we played our worst game of the year, to be honest," Bakken said. "I don't know if the pressure got to the kids. I haven't seen our kids make those sort of errors all year long and then we decided to do it tonight, so it's kind of rough that way.

"I was happy with the season overall. I just wish we could play one more."