For a second straight night, it looked like George Washington was destined for extra innings to settle a pitchers’ duel in the Mountain State Athletic Conference baseball tournament. But Chuck Kelley’s mad dash changed all that.
Kelley circled the bases with an inside-the-park home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday, giving GW a dramatic 1-0 victory against Hurricane in the championship game at GoMart Ballpark in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
It marks the first MSAC title for the Patriots (17-6), and it came in thrilling fashion.
The Patriots’ Slade Barton and the Redskins’ Ryan Bowman had battled to a scoreless draw through six innings before GW reliever Luke Gordon retired Hurricane in order in the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the inning, Kelley slapped a sinking liner to right field that just trickled under the glove of a diving Aiden Ocheltree and skipped all the way to the fence. Kelley motored around the bases and hit home plate, where he was greeted by a raucous mob of Patriots teammates.
“When that guy missed the ball,†Kelley said, “and it just started running past him, I knew I had a chance. We lost the last two years in the tournament, so we wanted to come back and win it.â€
That ended a second straight night of sterling pitching for GW and its tournament opponent. In Monday’s game, the Patriots broke up a 0-0 game in the bottom of the sixth with four unearned runs to secure a 4-0 victory against Spring Valley.
On Tuesday, Barton allowed four hits in his six innings, striking out six, walking two and hitting two. Hurricane’s Bowman went six-plus, giving up only three hits with five Ks and just one walk, which was intentional.
GW coach Mike Davis said he, like many, was mentally prepared for extra innings for the second night in a row.
“I was no exception to that,†Davis said. “It was very similar to our semifinal game. You’ve got to tip your cap to [Bowman]. He just did an incredible job of keeping us off-balance all night.
“At certain points, I was obviously disappointed with our approaches up there. That’s baseball sometimes and it came down to whoever was going to make the first mistake. Fortunately, we have Chuck Kelley playing for us, who is just an incredible athlete, and got them moving right there to make a big play.â€
The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for Hurricane (18-4), which also fell to GW 3-1 in a regular-season game on April 10.
Redskins coach Brian Sutphin lauded Ocheltree’s effort to try and snag the ball before it hit the artificial turf.
“He was aggressive,†Sutphin said, “and I had no problems with that. I actually thought he came up with it when he first dove, and I think the ball was just sinking there at the end.â€
Sutphin was more concerned about stranding eight runners against Barton, including a bases-loaded situation in the first.
“We made some bad plays, I thought,†Sutphin said. “Things we’re usually good at, we failed. Just the sacrifice bunting and some poor plays. Didn’t get enough opportunities and we ended up leaving too many guys on base. You’re going to get that sometimes when a guy has good stuff like that.â€
Barton was backed by at least five solid defensive plays — two baserunners thrown out by catcher Corbin Dixon, shortstop Jon Fala’s running grab of a pop fly in short left field, Kelley’s stop of a hot smash to first and an unusual 7-5 putout at third when left fielder Hunter Stewart scooped up a sinking liner and fired to third for a force out.
“That’s our goal,†Davis said. “We’re going to throw strikes and we’re going to play exceptional defense, and we were able to do that. That’s as sharp as I’ve seen Slade. I mean, his stuff was very, very good tonight — multiple pitches that were off the charts when you’re speaking of stuff.
“That’s what we needed. When you have the luxury to trot that out there the second day of a tournament — and it’s as good as I’ve seen him — that’s what we needed tonight.â€
Before Kelley’s homer, Bowman had permitted just a pair of singles to Dixon in the first and fourth innings — and both were infield hits. GW got just one runner to second before Kelley’s climactic clout.
Tyler Baxter (2 for 4) had half of Hurricane’s hits.
“I thought our guys fought,†Sutphin said, “and their guy, their pitcher, pitched well and our guy pitched a hell of a ball game. He’s been solid all year and he obviously proved that tonight. He was at 55 pitches in the sixth inning. It’s just one of those things.â€
HURRICANE 000 000 0 — 0 4 0
GEO. WASHINGTON 000 000 1 — 1 3 0
Bowman and Dempsey; Barton, Gordon (7) and Dixon.
Hitting: (H) Baxter 2-4. (GW) Kelley HR; Dixon 2-3.
