The Bainbridge High School Bearcats varsity soccer team closed out their regular season on a high note, beating the Berrien County Rebels, 6-1, Monday night at Centennial Field, and following that up with a 2-0 win at Americus-Sumter on Tuesday.
Region 1-AAAAA champion Bainbridge (14-2-2) will host Region 4-AAAAA No. 4 seed Whitewater (9-6-1) in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m. at Centennial Field. Admission is $7.
“We really, really need the community to come out and support the players when we host Whitewater next week,” Bainbridge coach Jamie Ard said.

Bainbridge 2, Americus-Sumter 0
The Bearcats got the scoring started in the seventh minute, when Luis Mejia scored a goal from about 20 yards away. In the 50th minute, Michael Moran took a pass on the back post of the goal from Garvis Kelly, to extend the lead to 2-0.
The win was Bainbridge’s eighth shutout this season.
“Dominic Douglas was busy in goal on the night,” Ard said. “He made some very nice saves to keep Americus-Sumter off the board.”
Ard said he thought the Bearcats looked a little “weary.”
“We looked a little weary tonight at times,” he said. “We started out the game well enough, but we got sloppy as the game went on — both when we were on the attack and when we were defending.
“I was glad to come home with a win, even though we did not have our best game.”
Ard said he was particularly pleased by the play of Kelly and Moran.
“Garvis continues to improve as a player, and he is really starting to make some real contributions on the field,” he said. “Michael really came through and gave us some breathing room when he scored the second goal.”

Bainbridge 6, Berrien County 1
Bainbridge broke out with six unanswered goals Monday before the visiting Rebels broke through to spoil the shutout in the 64th minute. Mejia finished with a hat trick in the winning effort.
The Bearcats opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Mejia took a pass from Carlos Becerra and slammed the ball into the back of the net. In the 30th minute, Becerra added a goal of his own on a chip shot over the Berrien County goal keeper. Just one minute later, Mejia scored off a corner kick played in by Daniel Provence.
In the 43rd minute, Jay Castro scored after taking a long pass from Courtlind Miller. Castro scored yet another goal in the 62nd minute, after taking an assist from Provence. In the 63rd minute, Mejia scored his third goal of the night, once again off an assist from Provence.
“The team played well,” Ard said. “They possessed the ball well and they finished when they had opportunities. Defensively, we were strong as well.”