Ryle Cullen wasn’t going to swing at an off-speed pitch.
Fortunately for Dixie Heights, the senior center fielder didn’t see one in Friday’s seventh inning against Ryle. He deposited AJ Curry’s first-pitch fastball into center field which scored Luke Abeling and sent the Colonels home happy with a 10-9 walk-off win.
“It was a fastball low,” Cullen said. “… I knew we had the top of the lineup up. We were going to get one.”
Dixie Heights had 13 hits, which made you forget four Colonel errors. Sean Mitchell had two doubles (he was 2-for-4 with a walk), Cullen was 3-for-5, Brach Rice was 2-for-4 and Will Steczynski was 2-for-4 with a walk.
“Going into this game, my confidence was a little low, so I was hoping for a spark of something,” Mitchell said. “I haven’t been hitting too well recently; I needed this for sure.”
Consider Mitchell’s confidence boosted – his fifth-inning double scored Carter Schroer, whose double scored Braden Shinkle, and Steczynski. The result: Dixie Heights, 8-6.
The Colonels were down to their last out when Mitchell faced Curry – Schroer grounded out to first, and Steczynski was thrown out at the plate. It was no problem because he doubled and scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
“I felt a little pressure going into that at-bat, went down 0-and-2 real early,” Mitchell said. “I had to do something to keep this inning going.”
Ryle coach Joe Aylor said Friday was the newest example of a wide-open Ninth Region.
“We have to come ready every day, and we need to figure that out pretty quickly,” Aylor said.
Grant Ashcraft relieved Ryle starter Lucas Sanders in the fourth inning. Aylor decided to go with Curry in the seventh because Ashcraft had thrown 66 pitches.
“AJ’s been kind of hot lately, so I kind of rolled the dice and see what we’d get,” Aylor said.
Dixie Heights’ (6-3) finish was infinitely better than its start. And the Raiders (4-3) took advantage – four runs on two hits and two Colonel errors.
Yes, Curry gave up Cullen’s single, and yes, he surrendered two runs in the seventh. But Ryle wouldn’t have taken a 9-8 lead if not for Curry’s three-run homer in the sixth.
Dylan McIntyre, Caleb Mann and Olli Morris provided Ryle’s early offense. McIntyre’s sacrifice fly scored Sam Eppley, Mann’s double plated Noah Crist and Matt Furtado, and a Morris single sent Mann home.
For the rest of the night, you could not help but wonder if there would be any pitching. Dixie Heights countered Ryle’s four-spot with three runs in the bottom of the first – Steczynski and Rice singled, and Rice scored on a wild pitch.
“We get down 4-0, we did a nice job hanging in there, answering the call, getting some runs right back,” said Colonels coach Chris Maxwell, who notched his 757th career win. “ … Brach (who started) didn’t have the best stuff (Friday), but he battled as long as he could.
“Austin (winning pitcher Austin Staton) came in and did a halfway decent job.”
Eppley’s double scored Anthony Coppola in the second. Ryle’s 5-3 lead lasted just one inning – Cullen and Mason Granger each singled home a run.
Almost ignored – but not quite – were two defensive plays.
In the fourth, Ryle right fielder AJ Curry threw out Mitchell at third. Two frames later, the play of the game – Schroer went to his right, went parallel to the grass and snagged Coppola’s smash in left-center field.
Schroer said making diving catches is his specialty – he practices it every day.
“I felt like I got a good jump on it,” Schroer said. “(Coppola) hit it pretty far in the gap, and I tracked it down, and I had to dive for it behind me. I got lucky and came up.”
Cullen said Friday was the most satisfying win so far, and with teammates giggling in the background, he pronounced the Colonels one of the Ninth Region’s best teams.
“I plan on having better games throughout the year,” Cullen said. “I’ve got to spread some confidence.”
RYLE 410 103 0 – 9 6 4
DIXIE HEIGHTS 302 030 2 – 10 13 4
Sanders, Ashcraft (4), Curry (7) and Morris, Caudill (3); Rice, Staton (5) and Shinkle. WP-Staton. LP-Curry. HR-Curry (R). 2B-Mann (R), Eppley (R), Mitchell (DH) 2, Schroer (DH). Records: R 4-3, DH 6-3.