CENTRAL POINT, OR – The Pepsi Bottlecaps baseball team took one step closer to playing for the Class A American Legion state championship with a 3-2 win over Central Point on Thursday.

Starting pitcher Cody Johnson went the distance for a complete game victory. Johnson allowed only six hits and three walks, while striking out seven batters. The right-hander started strong, allowing only two hits and no runs through the first four innings.

Meanwhile, the Pepsi offense gave Johnson a couple runs to work with. The Bottlecaps scored in the top of the first inning on a two-out single by Brody Black for a 1-0 lead. They stretched the lead to 2-0 on a two-out single by Zack Mandera in the top of the third inning.

Central Point got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-out single by Nick Bastendorf, who went 2-for-3 in the game.

Brody Black drove in a second run with another two-out hit in the top of the seventh inning to put Pepsi up 3-1, which proved big in the bottom of the seventh. Central Point scored a run on a one-out single and had the game-tying run at second base, but Johnson got a strikeout and a ground out to finish off the victory.

Black finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and Luke Lucido went 3-for-4 in the game.

The win was the first for Pepsi against Central Point this season. The two teams have also had plenty of history at the state tournament recently. Thursday’s game was the sixth time that Pepsi and Central Point have played each other in the tournament over the past three years. Each side has now won three times.

The Pepsi Bottlecaps move on to face North Medfrod, the two-time defending state champs, on Friday. The Bottlecaps have won three out of four against North Medford this season. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Central Point. The winner will be guaranteed a berth in the championship match-up on Sunday.