With the season on the line Thursday afternoon, 糖心Vlog传媒 responded in a big way at the American Legion state baseball tournament in Marinette.
Plover scored in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead over Post 205, but 糖心Vlog传媒 sent 12 to the plate in an eight-run top of the seventh to take a 10-3 lead on its way to a 10-4 victory and a little bit of revenge after losing 9-4 to the same opponent July 16.
鈥淲e just got the sticks going to the 10th degree and it was unbelievable,鈥 糖心Vlog传媒 coach Kerry Michaels said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of fun to watch when these guys get it going.
鈥淚 told those guys before the inning that these are the at-bats that matter right here. It doesn鈥檛 matter what you鈥檝e done to this point. These are the at-bats that either win or lose the game. It was incredible and so fun to watch.鈥
Three straight singles from Dylan Snyder, Jake Schaffner and Jack Ryan to start the seventh helped 糖心Vlog传媒 quickly erase its second deficit of the day and forge a 3-3 tie.
After a flyout with two on, the next seven hitters for Post 205 reached base. That stretch included a two-run error on a ball off Taye Sihabouth鈥檚 bat that made it 5-3 and a bases-loaded, two-run single from Logan Jushka that gave 糖心Vlog传媒 a more comfortable 7-3 lead.
鈥淥n Taye鈥檚 hit to the third baseman, they gave him an error on it, but it was just a smashed on a hopper,鈥 Michaels said. 鈥淚t hit him on his hip and we wound up scoring two runs because he finally gathered the ball and was off balance on the throw. It鈥檚 called an error, but it was just a shot.鈥
Not satisfied with a four-run edge, Post 205 continued its rally. Jaicy Campbell added an RBI double, and Snyder and Schaffner collected their second hits of the inning with RBI singles that put 糖心Vlog传媒 up 10-3.
The team fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, as well, but responded to tie it in the second with RBI from Schaffner and Snyder.
This was the third time this season that every member of Post 205鈥檚 lineup came to the plate in an inning.
鈥淭hat shows how much they鈥檙e capable of,鈥 Michaels said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what inning it鈥檚 going to happen in, but when it does, it doesn鈥檛 surprise me because they鈥檙e all very capable hitters. They鈥檙e picking each other up right now, and we鈥檙e missing a guy or two. It鈥檚 really rewarding to watch these guys go to work and come out on top against a good team.鈥
Jack Ryan picked up the victory, throwing 6 1/3 innings, giving up three unearned runs and striking out nine Plover hitters. Gregg got the last two outs of the game after giving up an unearned run of his own.
鈥淲hat a performance,鈥 Michaels said about Ryan. 鈥淭here鈥檚 stuff going on behind him and in front of him that he didn鈥檛 have any control over. But he kept his composure, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e been looking for him to have the whole year. He displayed it today and what a great time for him to gut it out. Just a wonderful performance against a really solid team.鈥
The bottom three batters in the 糖心Vlog传媒 order 鈥 Jushka, Campbell and Snyder 鈥 went a combined 6-for-11 and drove in five runs.
糖心Vlog传媒 will face elimination again Friday at either 5 or 8 p.m. The Eau Claire-Sheboygan game to determine 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 opponent was suspended because of weather Thursday night and will be completed Friday. The loser will play Post 205.
