Anna ousts WLS baseball 3-2

Dropped fly ball in bottom of seventh brings in tying and winning runs.

Video: WLS vs. Anna sectional final

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer Updated 10:58 AM Tuesday, May 19, 2009

CLAYTON — West Liberty-Salem High School took the lead four batters into the top of the first inning and still led when the last batter of the game came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

The game isn’t about who leads the longest, but who leads at the end.

That’s why Anna advanced with a 3-2 victory over the Tigers on Monday, May 18, in a Division III sectional baseball championship game at Clayton Northmont High School.

A dropped fly ball in short left field brought in the tying and winning runs for the Rockets (18-1), who won their first sectional title since 1997.

The runners were moving on contact. When the ball hit the ground, the Tigers had no chance to throw out the go-ahead run at the plate. Anna players ran to first base to congratulate Zach Clark, and he seemed unsure how to react since he had just hit what should have been a game-ending pop-out.

“It’s really frustrating to lose in that type of manner with a routine pop-up that should be caught and you’re moving on,” West Liberty-Salem coach Toby Smith said. “Instead, a routine pop-up drops and you’re going home. Your season’s over, and you turn in your stuff. That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

The Tigers, who lost 9-5 at Anna on April 24, took a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Brock Bahan and Ryan Ropp in the first.

Anna got one run back in the fifth. Then in the sixth, with the bases loaded and two outs, the Tigers avoided disaster with a diving catch in center field.

Bahan (8-1 with a 2.17 ERA entering the week) pitched well, but the Tigers committed four errors.

“He’s a great young pitcher that’s going to get better as he gets older,” Smith said. “I’m proud of him. Defensively, we made some mistakes. We played well enough to win, but we just didn’t finish it up.”

The Tigers have now won 20 games or more nine seasons in a row. Next year, they will return their top seven hitters. Two of their top three pitchers are sophomores.

Still, Smith said the seniors they lose, including starters Tyler Hayes and Travis Wright, played pivotal roles. He wasn’t ready to chalk this loss up as a learning experience.

“I’m sure I’ll feel better about it the further away we get, but right now I’m not feeling too good,” Smith said.

» Game box score on B3

» Tigers win sixth straight sectional. Roundup on B4

» Check out a video report from the WLS-Anna showdown online at Springfield NewsSun.com/sports

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