For the third consecutive season, West Monroe ended Sam Houston’s state championship quest early.

After falling behind 1-0, the No. 2 Rebels scored seven unanswered runs to beat the Broncos 7-1 in the Nonselect Division I semifinals on Thursday.

West Monroe (30-8) moved on to the finals for the fourth consecutive year where they will get a rematch with Barbe at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Rebels took out the Broncos 4-3 in the semifinals last season after scoring three runs in the seventh inning and swept a best-of-3 quarterfinal series in 2022 with both games decided by a single run.

The game was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning when Rebel freshman Peyton Starr delivered a bases-clearing double to center field. Isaiah Shivers added a two-run single in the fifth. 

Sam Houston (32-5) struck first when Carson Christ scored on a two-out single by Griffin Hebert in the top of the first inning. West Monroe evened the game on a passed ball in the bottom half of the inning.

The Broncos had some more opportunities but left a runner stranded on third base in each of the first three innings.

After hitting two batters in the first innings, West Monroe’s Andrew Ferguson turned in a complete game. He held the Broncos to four hits while striking out 10 batters and walking two.