WINCHESTER \u2014 Tears and cross words were in short supply Thursday evening while Great Crossing watched Sayre calmly celebrate back-to-back 11th Region baseball titles.<\/p>\n
Yes, the Warhawks are a classy bunch who have been taught to play the game the right way. Their ability to so quickly cycle through the stages of grief, though, reflects that they conquered unthinkably worse just to get here.<\/p>\n
For the second time in four seasons, a sixth-inning swoon sent the title home with a Lexington private school at the Warhawks\u2019 expense, this time the Spartans by a 5-3 final.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody did (expect us to be here). It\u2019s a gutsy bunch,\u201d GC coach Greg Stratton said. \u201cI\u2019m pleased, but that\u2019s twice right down to the end, In the sixth, same thing. I thought about it that inning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lexington Catholic erased Great Crossing\u2019s 1-0 lead with that late-game flourish in 2023. GC was five outs away with a 3-1 cushion before finally running out pf pitching and miracles against No. 7 Sayre.<\/p>\n
GC\u2019s two top two starters, Parker Covington and Landen Walters, were ineligible to pitch after prior tournament wins. With the remaining ranks slenderized by injuries and youth, the Warhawks basked in a courageous effort from usual bullpen stopper Collier Curtis.<\/p>\n
In only his second start of the season, Curtis contained Sayre (26-9) to three hits and two walks through the first five innings. The Spartans doubled those totals in the top of the sixth stanza before chasing him with the score tied.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir pitcher did a really good job of keeping us off-balance,\u201d Sayre coach Kevin Clary said. \u201cHe would throw curveballs, breaking balls in fastball counts, opposite in the way he does things. My hat\u2019s off to him. We finally saw enough pitches, and we got to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joaquin Acevedo\u2019s sharp, first-pitch single to center and a walk by winning pitcher Will Johnson put the tying run aboard.<\/p>\n
After a balk, Camden Stout smashed a ball into left. Acevedo scored to make it 3-2, and runners were perched perilously at the corners with one out.<\/p>\n
Curtis threw 22 pitches to notch the save in Wednesday\u2019s 12-8 semifinal win over Henry Clay, three beneath the threshold that allowed him to return without a day\u2019s rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did well. It did (catch up) going into the last inning,\u201d Stratton said. \u201cWe talked about maybe making a change earlier, but with the bottom of the lineup, we thought he was going to battle through that piece of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grady Lamonica pulled another ball through the hole between third base and shortstop for the tie.<\/p>\n
Curtis issued one more walk to Tackett before Stratton gave the hook and went with Chase Little, who threw a grand total of seven innings all spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made a couple of good pitches, and those kids hit the ball,\u201d Stratton said. \u201cAll you can do is tip your hat to somebody like that. But that\u2019s when (the short staff) really comes into play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little battled through the impossible situation and coaxed Gary Gibson into flying a payoff pitch to Eli Adkins in left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was enough to plate pinch runner Bennett Sharp with the go-ahead run.<\/p>\n
Elliot Jansky and Banks Heinrich waited out consecutive walks, pushing home the fourth run of the inning, before Colton Warren spelled Little and got a ground ball.<\/p>\n
Great Crossing (17-16) employed Fannin, Brayden Beckett, Sutton Holbrook and Chastin Covington as starters during the year, but Curtis was the healthy and experienced option with a trip to the state tournament on the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou find out with the injuries that we had, when you\u2019re looking around and you need them at that point, that\u2019s when it hurts,\u201d Stratton said. \u201cIt would have been great to have somebody else to start and have Collier later, but it is what it is. We did a lot with what we had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson, a junior left-hander making only his fifth start, kept GC similarly off plumb. He scattered six hits, struck out five and didn\u2019t surrender a walk.<\/p>\n
GC never trailed prior to Sayre\u2019s sixth-inning explosion, but one run in the third inning and two in the fifth felt like missed opportunities in rallies that started with greater promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so thankful we were able to come together and grind. It was a whole effort,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a team win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freshman left-hander Noah Pendland took over and retired Tyler Mullannix and Levi Hamon with ground outs on a total of four pitches. Little drew a walk before Warren lined to Gibson in center.<\/p>\n
Warren shooed the Spartans consecutively in the seventh, giving the Warhawks \u2014 who hadn\u2019t enjoyed a winning streak longer than three games all season until rattling off four in the district and region tourneys \u2014 one shot at more magic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got hot at the right time,\u201d Clary said. \u201cThe big deal for us is we had very emotional games against Lexington Catholic and Madison Central. We were due for an emotional letdown. We just had to stay with it and get after it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendland walked Adkins and hit Beckett in the back with a pitch, both with one out, prompting Clary to go with senior Camden Stout.<\/p>\n
That set up a power-versus-power matchup against Walters, who had a would-be home run correctly changed to a ground-rule double in the fifth, keeping the lead at two runs instead of three.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Stout) was throwing it in there, and that\u2019s really what Landen likes,\u201d Stratton said.<\/p>\n
Walters swung for the fences on all three offerings, fouling off the first before Stout slung the last two into the mitt.<\/p>\n
Curtis bounced to Heinrich, who stepped on the bag at second to retire Beckett and seal what some surmised was an unlikely repeat for the Spartans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost 12 seniors from last year\u2019s team, and people thought was going to be a rebuilding year for the Spartans,\u201d Clary said. \u201cWe proved them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
A late-season sweep at the hands of Scott County and then a shutout loss to Henry Clay in the 42nd District final shifted the focus for Sayre.<\/p>\n
Anchored on the hill by Heinrich, Jansky, Johnson and veteran relievers Gibson and Stout, the Spartans won their three region games by a total of four runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really senior-heavy last year, but we put in the work,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis team had really good chemistry. We get along together, especially this past two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dedicating its season to the memory of sophomore outfielder Case Wilson, who lost his life in a car accident March 22, Great Crossing saved its best for last.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to write a book one day, and this season here will probably take half of it,\u201d Stratton said.<\/p>\n
GC couldn\u2019t capitalize on leadoff singles by Walters and Hamon in the first two innings. Johnson stabbed a hard shot by Mullannix to twist a double play and stymie the opening frame.<\/p>\n
The Warhawks\u2019 favorite trick was to put runners on base and wait for opponents to self-destruct. It happened during their second and third raps.<\/p>\n
Eli King, running for Hamon, advanced from first to third on an errant pickoff throw. Johnson rebounded to finish striking out the side.<\/p>\n
Adkins singled and took two bases in the same scenario next inning. GC converted that time on a groundout by Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe overcame a really well-coached team,\u201d Clary said. \u201cThey\u2019re fundamental. They put the ball in play. I\u2019m so proud of our guys for their character, their integrity and how they handled themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayre snapped back to tie it in the fourth. Winton walked, went to second on a bunt by Acevedo, and scored when Johnson smacked a single into right.<\/p>\n
Great Crossing players, coaches and fans thought Mullannix\u2019s laser of a throw to Hamon caught pinch runner Blake Lambert at the plate. At least one still photo of the play supported that belief, but the run stood.<\/p>\n
It remained quiet until the bottom of the fifth, when Warren whacked the first pitch into center for a base hit.<\/p>\n
Covington pushed a perfect bunt down the first base line to keep the wheels in motion, but pinch runner Landon Williams still stood at second with two out when Stratton played a wild hunch.<\/p>\n
He called on Hayden Kirby, who batted .500 in eight games before his junior season was cut short by injury on the Warhawks\u2019 spring back trip to Florida.<\/p>\n
Kirby hadn\u2019t swung a bat under live game conditions in eight weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI activated him (Thursday), because he got released (Wednesday),\u201d Stratton said. \u201cHe had a small fracture of the (left) shin. He\u2019s been hitting for a couple weeks. He came and hit with us today.\u201d<\/p>\n
After taking a ball and a strike, Kirby laced one through the middle to deliver the go-ahead run.<\/p>\n
Kirby immediately left the game for a pinch runner, a brace still protecting that patched-up wheel.<\/p>\n
Again, it made sense, because options were scarce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have that many varsity-wise pinch hitters ready to go, and with him, I\u2019m going to trust him,\u201d Stratton said. \u201cHe comes in and does what he\u2019d been doing all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up next, Walters hopped on a 3-2 pitch and lofted it over Gibson\u2019s head.<\/p>\n
To the naked eye, the ball took one hop over the two-tiered fence at GRC. That layout creates somewhat of an optical illusion, and the closest umpire to the scene initially signaled home run.<\/p>\n
The four umps convened for a lengthy discussion before returning Walters to second base, allowing only Beckett to score on Kirby\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n
Curtis flied to Acevedo in right field to end the rally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the umpire, \u2018I\u2019ve got to come out here and talk to you about that,\u2019\u201d Stratton said with a knowing smile. \u201cWe should have been doing that before that inning. We let them get away with us scoring only that one run before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayre advanced to a first-round game in the KHSAA tournament against Johnson Central at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans lost to Taylor County, 7-6, a year ago in that spot.<\/p>\n
Great Crossing\u2019s win over Henry Clay was its first in 10 tries this season against a top 25 opponent.<\/p>\n
The Warhawks faced five of the 16 teams in the state tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe battled all the way to the last out,\u201d Stratton said. \u201cThat\u2019s all I can ask of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINCHESTER \u2014 Tears and cross words were in short supply Thursday evening while Great Crossing watched Sayre calmly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2288],"tags":[2309,5,2323,2314,2317,2313,2340,3696,2333,19,2310,2328,2304,2318,2308,4,2305,2303,2320,74048],"class_list":["post-714985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-postseason","tag-ball-and-bat-games","tag-baseball","tag-baseball-events","tag-baseball-finals","tag-baseball-games","tag-baseball-playoffs-and-champions","tag-baseball-positions","tag-bunt-baseball","tag-grass-field-surfaces","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-major-league-baseball-competitions","tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","tag-major-league-baseball-seasons","tag-major-league-baseball-teams","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-playoffs","tag-mlb-postseason","tag-pitcher","tag-rules-of-baseball"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}