WESTLAKE — No. 9 Westlake took advantage of a stiff wind out of the south for two long home runs to win the opener of its nonselect Division III bi-district playoff series with Church Point 11-5 on Thursday.

Ethan Koonce hit a three-run moon shot with one out in the second inning that landed in the trees on the south side of John Stine Road behind the left-field wall. Hadley Hardesty’s two-run bomb with one out in the fourth inning put the Rams up 7-0.

The home runs, coupled with three bunts and Gavin Robertson’s fifth inning steal of home, helped Rams hound the Bears all game. The Rams scored in five of six innings.

“We kind of talked about it in the scouting report,” Westlake head coach Blake Reed said. “We knew we were going to apply pressure which is something we haven’t done extremely well all year.

“We put some bunts down and got some traffic on the bases. Obviously the two long balls kind of deafened the opposing dugout a little bit.”

Westlake (18-14) opened the playoffs with a win for a third consecutive season. The best-of-three series will continue at 10 a.m. Saturday followed by Game 3 at 12:30 p.m., if necessary.

“I like that pattern,” Reed said. “It is a little different this year with the three-game series in the first round. You play it a little different than you would a normal one-gamer. I don’t know if it gives you a little more room to breathe or not. I can’t tell the difference yet.

“We are going to go on full offensive and attack mode on Saturday morning and try to keep our arms and bodies fresh and do it quick.”

No. 24 Church Point (6-19) put pressure on the Rams in the fifth inning when the Bears cut the deficit to 7-4. Two of the runs came on a wild pitch and a hit batter with the bases loaded. Joshua Richard and Carter Fontenot hit RBI singles with no outs before Koonce stopped the Bears with a strikeout and two flyouts.

Koonce earned the win, allowing four runs in five innings with seven strikeouts and six walks.

“I was proud of him,” Reed said. “He dug down. When I went to talk to him I asked him how he felt, and he said he wanted to get out of it. That just shows his character. He is a high-character kid and is always going to do that. He wants the ball; he wants to compete and he wants to win.”

Church Point’s Carter Fontenot led all batters with three hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning.