Magnolia’s Brady Loving just beat the UIL’s 110-pitch limit, striking out Rudder’s Jaice Garcia on his 108th pitch Friday to clinch the Bulldogs’ spot in the UIL baseball playoffs.

Loving settled down after a rough start to lead Magnolia to an 8-1 victory at Ranger Field. That coupled with Brenham’s 5-2 win over Waller gave the Bulldogs (16-10, 8-6) the fourth seed outright on the final day of District 19-5A play.

“Rudder came out and hung with us,” Magnolia coach Taylor Shiflett said. “We scratched a big inning. Our pitcher struggled a little bit early and then found it. We did a good job competing tonight and finding a way to win.”

Loving gave up just one run on three hits and four walks while striking out seven. He allowed just three baserunners over the final five innings.

Rudder (5-19-1, 3-11) had chances to get to Loving early, but the Rangers couldn’t get a key hit and left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings with just one run to show for it. AJ Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to deep right in the second inning to tie the game after Magnolia’s Carson Curry hit a run-scoring single in the top of the frame.

Rudder sophomore starting pitcher Trent Tompkins was sharp early, allowing only an unearned run while throwing just 36 pitches through the first three innings.

The Bulldogs reeled off a six-run fourth to grab control with all of the runs coming with two outs. Hernandez nearly got Rudder out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed as the right fielder got a good jump on a line drive in the right-center gap off the bat of Mitch Hall, but he couldn’t complete the running, over-the-shoulder catch as the ball fell in for a three-run double. Caleb Clines hit a two-run double later in the inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch for a 7-1 Magnolia lead.

“Honestly, off the bat, I didn’t think that [Hernandez] was going to even touch the ball,” Rudder coach Chase Sanford said. “He made a great play to get on it, and that’s not an error at all. Those are swing plays, and if you can make one of those, it changes the momentum of the whole game.”

Tompkins gave up seven runs, five earned, in four innings on five hits and two walks.

Rudder’s Logan Bosley pitched the final three innings, giving up an unearned run on just one hit and one walk.

Garcia kept Rudder in the game with a nifty defensive play in the second. With the bases loaded and one out, Garcia snagged a liner from Hall inches off the infield grass and stepped on first to double off Curry to get out of the inning.

“Bottom line, our young guys got a lot of experience [this season],” Sanford said. “They got the type of experience that you can’t buy, that you’ve got to be baptized by fire. These guys understand what it takes to succeed at this level.”

Senior Charlie Fisher was a bright spot on offense in his final game as a Ranger, reaching base in three of his four plate appearances. He singled in the first, was hit by a pitch in the second and walked in the seventh.

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NOTES — Magnolia’s victory eliminated Brenham from playoff contention, breaking a 35-year streak of playoff appearances for the Cubs. ... Rudder honored seniors Martin Cacho, David Scanlin, Ethan Guajardo, Elias Chavarria and Fisher during pregame Senior Night festivities.

Magnolia 8, Rudder 1

Magnolia 010 600 1 — 8 6 0

Rudder 010 000 0 — 1 3 3

Brady Loving and Bo Willis; Trent Tompkins, Logan Bosley (5) and Rudy Schultz.

W — Loving. L — Tompkins.

Leading hitters: MAGNOLIA (16-10, 8-6) — Cole Ketzner 2-4, SB, run; Mitch Hall 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI, run; Caleb Clines 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, run. RUDDER (5-19-1, 3-11) — Jaice Garcia 1-3, HBP; Charlie Fisher 1-2, BB, HBP; AJ Hernandez RBI.

Highlights: Loving struck out seven.