Team with four Gilroy players loses game, but wins tie-breaker
to earn top seed and advance to semis
By Jimmy Durkin Staff Writer
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and the tying run at third base, a wild pitch was sent flying to the backstop.
But Jon Hughes didn’t make a move toward home to score the run.
Kevin Grove’s at-bat continued and he drew a walk to load the bases.
Charlie McClung followed by grounding out to give O’Fallon, Miss., the 6-5 win and start the celebration for … Morgan Hill?
As weird as it sounds that’s how Morgan Hill secured its spot in the medal round and moved into today’s semifinals as the top seed in the Red Division.
“I’ve been involved in baseball a long time and I’ve never been involved in a situation like that,” assistant coach Mark Cummins said.
Morgan Hill entered Monday’s game with O’Fallon, which was delayed three hours due to rain, with a 3-0 record after beating Mazatlan, Mexico, on Sunday. While Monday’s loss dropped the team into a three-way tie with O’Fallon and Lafayette, Ind., at 3-1, Morgan Hill and Lafayette advanced via the runs allowed tie-breaker and thus still have a shot at a world championship.
Morgan Hill allowed 11 runs over its four games to earn the top spot over Lafayette, which allowed 14 runs and O’Fallon, which surrendered 16.
The local boys trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning against O’Fallon, whose easiest road to the title round involved winning and holding Morgan Hill to less than three runs.
But Morgan Hill eliminated that scenario with a big rally in the sixth.
With two on and nobody out, Hughes (Valley Christian) reached on an infield single to score Billy Hill (Sobrato).
McClung (Monte Vista Christian) followed with an RBI single and Blake Winzelar (Bellarmine Prep) delivered the big hit with a two-run double to tie the game and make the situation much tougher for O’Fallon, who still had an outside chance to advance.
The Missourans answered that rally with two runs in the top of the seventh, but were put in a dicey position because it needed to win by at least five runs to have a chance to move on.
That meant O’Fallon needed to allow Morgan Hill to tie the game and take its chances in extra innings.
Morgan Hill, which needed to simply make its final three outs to secure a spot in the medal round or rally for the win, made things interesting.
With two outs, Matt Cummins (Live Oak) singled and Hughes doubled. Ryan Evanger (Gilroy) followed with an RBI single and set up two options for Morgan Hill to reach the medal round: Score two runs to win the game, or make the final out to lose the game and as a result, win the Red Division and advance.
“I had never seen anything like this,” manager David Newton. “We had to call time out just to explain it. …(The players) understood what we were talking about. These kids are good, they’re smart.”
That’s when O’Fallon threw the wild pitch, but Morgan Hill didn’t budge and Hughes held his ground at second to ensure the inning would not end with the game tied.
Plan B proved to be in the cards and Morgan Hill lost the game on McClung’s ground out to escape the craziness with the “win.”
“I told him to either hit it in the gap or strike out,” Newton said.
Morgan Hill will likely face three-time defending champion Tampa, Fla., who played Bay County, Mich., late Monday and was in need of a win to take second in tougher White Division play and advance.
The result of that game was not available at press time.
“They’re a very good team,” Mark Cummins said of Tampa. “We’re going to have to play our best to compete with them because they’re very talented.”
While Morgan Hill was celebrating its qualifying for the medal round and its first-place finish in the Red Division, the coaching staff admitted it was an unusual feeling to celebrate after losing a game.
“It’s still a kind of awkward feeling,” Mark Cummins said. “Not to win the game hurts, but in that scenario, that’s the thing to do. It’s kind of bittersweet, but the sweeter part is much better.”
Morgan Hill put itself in the driver’s seat to advance thanks to its 5-2 win Sunday over Mexico.
Alika Bantilan was on the hill for Morgan Hill and pitched five innings to get the win.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings before Morgan Hill broke out in the top of the fourth.
Hill led off the inning with a single and Cummins doubled him home to break the scoreless tie. Hughes was hit by a pitch and with runners on the corners, Evanger brought Cummins home with an infield single.
Grove singled home Hughes to make it 3-0 and Stephen Smith singled home Evanger to widen the lead.
Mexico went to the bullpen and brought Joel Rodriguez into pitch and he induced Steven Rodriguez to hit a grounder to third. Grove scored on the play to wrap up the five-run rally.
Mexico responded in the bottom of the inning. Alberto Garcia reached on a walk, Joel Rodriguez singled and Hugo Gutierrez delivered a two-run double to make it 5-2.
But Bantilan and McClung, who pitched the final two innings in relieft, combined to hold Mexico at bay the rest of the way and earn the win.
Morgan Hill’s semifinal game will take place today at 2pm. If Morgan Hill wins, it will play in the championship game Wednesday at 4:30 against either Lafayette or Greensboro, N.C.
