There was a lot on the line for recent high-school graduate Caleb Rock as he rounded third after a big shot into right field by Gehrig Wynn, and trucked hard down the line in the bottom of the seventh in a tied ballgame between his Benton Rangers (22-11, 8-3 SIRR Ohio) and the shoe-leather tough Harrisburg Bulldogs.
For one, it was Senior Night at Eovaldi Field, and on top of that, the outcome of this game would decide whether or not the Rangers would take home a share of the SIRR Ohio Division conference championship, along with Murphysboro.
A quick but low throw barely saw the ball into the Harrisburg's catcher's mitt as he had to scrape in the dirt to come up with it, just as Rock was coming near. With no time to waste, Rock made a last-ditch leap for home, making clean thigh-to-face contact with the opposing catcher, who was directly blocking his path, and knocking the ball loose from his grasp as he slid in safely to win the game in grand style.
As a catcher, Rock had been on the other end of this nerve-wrecking situation plenty of times, but he said this was his first time on the other end it. Rock added, "In my head, when I rounded third, I knew it was pretty close, and I didn't know if I was going to make it, but he was in the baseline, so I really did all I could to touch the plate."
"That was special for these guys, especially Caleb scoring that run there at the end. He made a great read. I'm proud of these guys for what they've accomplished," said an ecstatic Coach Brett Blondi after the game. "They'll remember this one. You know that's what I want them to be able to do. I want them to enjoy it. I want them to be able to have fun, and enjoy being around one another and have some success. To be able to do that, especially on these seniors' last game at Eovaldi Field is really special."
It was a tight battle throughout as Harrisburg delivered the opening salvo in the first, and the Rangers answered right back with two in the bottom of the inning after Gehrig Wynn and Dillan Chamness came in to score, with Oxford being brought in by an RBI shot from Dillan Chamness. Benton then drove in one more in the second to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
Ian McMahon (4-2, one save), who pitched a complete game shutout earlier in the season against the Bulldogs, threw well through four innings, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out three batters. He was relieved by Senior Levi Pearce (6-2, one save), who took the win in relief--coming in during the fifth and recording three outs on three pitches--including a first-pitch double play.
Benton squandered some good opportunities to pad their lead in the middle innings, leaving six stranded runners, which came back to bite them in the top of the sixth as Presley Gauch drove in a two-run blast off Pearce to tie the game 3-3.
Both Benton and Harrisburg knocked in six hits in the game. Wynn (.333 avg.) was the Rangers' top batsman, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Benton's other three hits came courtesy of Dillan Chamness (.392), Tyson Houghland (.330), and Cole Richardson (.279). Harrisburg's top slugger was Gauch whose late-game homers gave the Bulldogs a fighting chance, along with Patrick Bittle, who also had a good day at the dish, going 2-for-3 and driving in a run. Also recording hits for the Bulldogs were Bryce Emery, Noah Vallette, and Austin Hefner.
Before the game, the Rangers’ seniors were presented with flowers and balloons, and given a photo-opportunity with their parents. Those seniors included Rock, Pearce, Richardson, Chamness, Logan Threlkeld, Chase Owens, Dylan Odle, and Nick Goffinet.
Up next for the Rangers is the IHSA Regional tournament at Herrin, where they play the winner of Marion and Carbondale this Thursday.
