Late heroics by Bennett, Brown put Mobile Christian in state finals
Mobile Christian’s P.J. Brown lays down a bunt single in the opening game of the Class 5A semifinal series against Valley in Valley Tuesday. Brown’s single brought in the winning run in the second game as the Leopards swept into the state finals. (Stew Milne/Call News)
Mobile Christian’s Alex Bennett takes a rip at a pitch during the opener of Tuesday’s Class 5A semifinal series at Valley. Bennett’s dramatic first homer of this postseason tied the game 7-7 in the eighth inning of the second game and the Leopards went on to sweep with an 8-7 win. (Stew Milne/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
VALLEY — The city of Valley has a population of 10,000, not counting the incessant thrumming of millions of cicadas, which could be heard even as 18-wheelers rushed by out on Interstate 85.
They surrounded the baseball field on Tuesday and made people comb them out of their hair and shorts but nobody was going anywhere. A raucous, overflow crowd had to see the Class 5A semifinal series between Mobile Christian and Valley and it will likely take longer than the next cicada cycle of 13 years for the players on either side to forget what happened between the lines.
The Rams trailed for 11 innings in the doubleheader before, like the cicadas, they arose from the ground after a lengthy slumber to take leads of 6-5 in the seventh and 7-6 in the eighth of Game 2.
But with Valley’s fans drowning out the noisy insects, the Leopards’ Alex Bennett waylaid a two-out, game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth and P.J. Brown’s double to left field brought in the winning run two batters later as the No. 9-ranked Leopards came from behind to edge the Rams 8-7 in one of the classic games in playoff history and reach the state championship series.
Mobile Christian (24-10) will go after its sixth Blue Map since 2015 when it plays No. 1 Alexandria in the state finals beginning Monday in Jacksonville.
The Leopards swept their fourth straight playoff series this season by a combined 85-24, although Valley (26-7) refused to quit after losing the opener 10-4.
“To come up here in a hostile environment and never quit … it’s tough playing two games,” Mobile Christian coach Jason Smith said. “I love the format but it’s hard to play a doubleheader when you put so much emotion into winning Game 1, then you have to do the same thing for another eight innings.”
The Rams trailed 4-0 going into the sixth inning of Game 2 and 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth after Damien Gatson slugged his third homer of the playoffs to right field with two outs.
That home run came off reliever Seth Hammock, the only hit he allowed in 2.2 innings of relief. But after he hit Gavin Weinshenker with a pitch leading off the seventh to set up the tying run, Valley coach Mike Meadows knew Hammock was struggling with the pressure.
“When we took the lead in the seventh, I thought we had a chance to close it out,” Meadows said. “But Seth got a little nervous and his heart rate got up. He told me to give it to someone else, so I pulled him.”
The Rams persevered in the top of the seventh, as Jackson Sanders’ RBI double tied it and Ty Monteith’s RBI bloop single to right field gave Valley the lead.
The Leopards showed their championship mettle, forcing extra innings on Chandler Carpenter’s two-out, line-drive RBI single to bring in Weinshenker with the tying run.
The Rams again surged ahead 7-6 in the top of the eighth on Matthew McDonald’s RBI bunt single and an error.
But Bennett slammed a 3-1 pitch into Cicadaville’s right-field trees — his first homer of this postseason — to tie it with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Bennett, who plays first base, was miffed about two infield singles in the top of the eighth which helped Valley take the lead.
“I just wanted to do damage at the plate,” said Bennett, who is hitting .368 in the playoffs with five RBIs. “It was 3-and-1 and (McDonald) was hunting over the middle and I got my pitch. I knew it was gone. You know when you catch the barrel, it’s a great feeling. It’s the greatest feeling in the world. I looked forward to this moment playing wiffle ball in the yard as a kid. That’s the spot you want to be in. You want to be the top guy.”
Meadows knew Gatson’s and Bennett’s home runs were likely lethal blows to the Rams’ chances of forcing a third game.
“Those home runs were tough to overcome,” he said. “It’s a tough night.”
After Bennett’s homer tied it, Weinshenker — who curiously as the cleanup hitter bedeviled Valley with small ball all day — laid down a bunt that could just as well been a grain of sand stuck between the blades of grass. It was a blade stuck between the Rams’ shoulders.
“When you bunt left and right and they can’t do anything about it, there’s nothing better than seeing the defense crumble,” said Weinshenker, who had three bunt singles last week, two more on Tuesday and two more sacrifices to set up runs. “We spend 30 or 45 minutes a day bunting and it never gets boring. We like putting pressure on a defense.”
Brown — the No. 5 batter in the order who is hitting .413 with 10 RBIs in the postseason — then pulled the first pitch he saw from McDonald, a low inside fastball, and bounced it past third baseman Carter Chambley for a double into left field. Smith didn’t hesitate, frantically waving Weinshenker home from first base to end the series as it neared 11 o’clock.
Weinshenker was swallowed by his joyous teammates after touching the plate and they raced toward third base for a celebratory pileup while Valley players buckled to the ground in disbelief.
“I didn’t have a problem with it coming down to me,” Brown said. “It feels great. I was just looking for a pitch in my zone.”
Brown said his postseason success at the plate is due to preparation and something simple: “Just see the ball and hit the ball,” he deadpanned.
Few could see Mobile Christian contending for the state championship after getting swept by St. Paul’s to lose the 5A Area 2 championship and finishing the regular season 16-10.
Smith was not one of those, however.
“I knew deep down in my heart we had the ability to do this,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out. There is some luck involved too.”
No luck is involved in this team’s small game, which came up big by manufacturing seven runs all told.
“We’ve been able to execute our offense the last few weeks better than we have all year,” Smith said.
In the opener, the Leopards executed all five bunts perfectly, including three bunt singles and two sacrifices, resulting in five runs.
In Game 2, they executed three of four bunts, two for infield singles and one sacrifice, resulting in two runs in a one-run game. That included Weinshenker setting up his winning run.
Meadows could only pay tribute to Mobile Christian.
“They are very athletic and bunt the ball well,” Meadows said. “You better field it and field it clean or they’ll beat it out. They know how to play the small-ball game.”
The Leopards, of course, can do more than bunt and their habit of delivering under the most demanding situations was on full display — scoring 18 runs on a pitching staff which had allowed just 18 in seven previous playoff games and had thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
So thorough was Mobile Christian’s contact that everybody in the lineup had a hit in the two games except for Aiden Gaston but he had an RBI fielder’s choice and scored twice in Game 1.
Everybody had an RBI except for Bryce Rivers and Weinshenker but Rivers scored twice in Game 2 and Weinshenker moved traffic on the bases like a perpetual green light at a busy intersection.
Two-out hits? Brown had three which drove in four runs. Gatson and Bennett homered with two outs. And Carpenter broke an 0-for-7 slump in the series with a two-out, line-drive RBI single to right field in his last at bat to tie it 6-6 in the seventh inning of the finale.
The Rams got what they wanted in the nightcap — a close game — but lost to a team that has mauled most of its opponents. Valley came into the series 13-4 in games decided by two runs or less and showed its resolve.
“They fought their tails off,” Meadows said. “We were one pitch away from not winning the area. The first round, we were down 7-3 going into the seventh and won. Being behind late in big games is not uncommon with us.”
The Leopards passed the test of a rare close playoff game. After winning by 7, 7, 11, 7, 6, 12 and 6 runs in the postseason, they are now 2-2 in games decided by two runs or less this year.
Brown had two hits and three RBIs in Game 2 and Reid Schmitz (5-0) got the win, allowing four runs and five hits in three innings in relief of starter Maddox McKinion, who allowed three runs and three hits in five innings.
McDonald, Sanders and Chambley each had two hits for the Rams, who reached the semifinals for the third time in school history and the first time since 1978. McDonald took the loss.
Mobile Christian 10,
Valley 4
