CENTERBURG — A trip to the district finals slipped through the hands of the Centerburg baseball team Monday.
The Trojans led Amanda-Clearcreek by three runs late in the Division III Central District semifinal, but watched as the Aces scored seven times in the final two innings to capture a wild 7-4 come-from-behind victory at Centerburg.
“Great job by them (Amanda-Clearcreek), but we didn’t play good baseball those last two innings,” said Centerburg coach Josh Moss.
“A couple errors, kicked it around, threw it around. I thought we had two or three situations where we could have at least gotten an out and gotten out of the inning. We just didn’t take advantage of the balls hit right to our guys.”
Two errors and an infield single led to two Amanda-Clearcreek runs in the top of the sixth to pull the Aces (17-6) within one (3-2). The wheels then fell off completely for the Trojans (20-5). The Aces used two single, a double and a couple of Centerburg errors to score five times.
“I was starting to doubt whether it would happen. We’d been hitting the ball well, playing good defense,” said Amanda-Clearcreek coach Travis Stone.
“Honestly, at the end of the game we were able to score some runs, but I want to tip my cap to Ryan Chambers (A-C’s starting pitcher) tonight. He did not have his best stuff, but he grinded it out. We held those guys (Centerburg) to two runs. They should have had about 10. We were able to make plays and good pitches when it counted.”
Centerburg tried valiantly to make a comeback, loading the bases on a single from Grayson Reynolds, a walk from Dalton Hall and Jesse Rings reaching on an error.
Caylen Lemaster scored Reynolds on a single, but A-C reliever Trenton Hedges was able to get a force out at home, then fanned the final two batters to secure the victory.
“We loaded the bases up with no one out, so I’m thinking, we’ll get a couple in here, turn it over and see what happens when we get to the top (of the lineup),” Moss said. “Credit their guy. He made some big pitches to put our guys away. He came and shut the door.”
The Trojans had been able to keep the Aces at bay in the first five innings, thanks to some big defensive plays.
In the first inning, Hedges had a one-out single and moved to second when Payton Cassley was hit by a pitch. Cade Young then smacked a single to left field, but Hedges was mowed down at home plate on a nice relay throw from Hunter Parker to Jarred Rings to catcher Dalton Hall.
Right fielder Cayln Lemaster then made a nice running catch in the second to keep the Aces off the board again, and centerfielder Dakota Baer had two incredible catches in the fifth.
The Trojans came out hitting early, as well.
Baer led off the game with a single, then stole second. Rings got an infield single, moving Baer to third. After Rings stole second, Grayson Reynolds hit a smash in the hole that A-C first baseman Peter Brockman stabbed.
But, Brockman’s flip to first went wide and the Trojans led 2-0. A baserunning goof kept the Trojans from adding on in the inning.
Centerburg added another run in the fifth when Reynolds doubled to lead off the inning. An A-C error on a ball hit by Jesse Rings allowed Reynolds to score and Rings to head to second. Rings then stole third, but was nailed at the plate on a ball hit by Lemaster.
“I thought when we got that third run, that would be enough the way Griff (Griffin Collins) was throwing,” Moss said.
But, it wasn’t as Amanda scored twice in the sixth and five times in the seventh to take the victory.
The Trojans were led by Grayson Reynolds, who had a double and a single and scored two runs. Reed Compton smacked two singles, while Baer, Jarred Rings, Lemaster and Hunter Parker all singled.
Griffin Collins started on the hill for Centerburg, going six-plus innings with five strikeouts.
“I don’t feel like they got barreled up a whole lot. That’s what he’s done all year for us. He’s efficient and gets guys out,” Moss said.
Daniel Lemaster finished up, allowing just one hit.
The loss capped off a tremendous year for the Trojans, who had 20 wins for the first time in school history and finished second in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference. They will lose seniors Baer, Collins, Compton, Hall, Parker, Isaiah Reynolds and Jarred Rings.
“Our motto, we break every huddle with family and we do it for a reason,” Moss said. “Our seniors really embraced the team mindset behind it. I can’t think of a better class to have as a first year coach. The way these seniors embraced the changes I brought, the brand of baseball that I brought, my style of coaching. They bought right in.
“The foundation they laid. They had a historic season from a Centerburg baseball standpoint. The individual and team records that they broke. The wins in a row, wins in a season. I can’t tell you the individual records they set this year. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
