With a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning against one of the tournament favorites, free passes haunted Scott’s baseball team.
George Rogers Clark rallied and edged past Scott 6-5 for the second consecutive year in the 10th Region baseball quarterfinals Monday afternoon in Claryville.
A four-run fifth doomed the Eagles.
“We were right there,” Scott head coach Patrick Dragan said. “We had to throw more strikes. I think that’s the biggest thing. We walked some guys and gave them free bases. With the way they run the bases and hit the ball, it’s hard to keep them off the scoreboard if you’re giving away free passes. We gave them everything we could until the very end.”
The part of GRC’s game that initially gave Scott confidence ended up delivering the Cardinals’ final blow — the bullpen.
Both teams opened with their aces: Scott freshman Ty Cook and GRC sophomore Myles Frick. Trouble started on the Cardinals’ side when Frick was tagged for four runs in the second. Frick was ejected in the inning. Caleb Pierce took over for two innings before senior Maddox Campbell entered and shut things down.
Campbell was nearly untouchable over the final 3.1 innings. He allowed just two hits, no runs or walks, and struck out four to earn the win.
“He’s been our high-leverage guy all year,” GRC head coach Eddie Brooks said. “He’s had some ups and downs, but I keep telling him I believe in him. You’re going right back out next time. He did what a senior is supposed to do. He gave us the opportunity, and we figured out a way to score four and get the win.”
Cook was equally strong for the Eagles.
The freshman went 4.1 innings, allowing three hits, four earned runs, four walks and striking out three. He also helped himself at the plate with an RBI double. His early presence gave Scott the momentum it needed, as the Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Brady Smith’s three-run double and limited GRC to one run apiece in the third and fourth innings.
“I have all the trust in the world in him,” Dragan said. “That’s why I gave him the ball. He’s a really, really talented kid with a bright future. He’s one of those guys who’s just a bulldog. He doesn’t care who he’s throwing against — he could face the New York Yankees and still go out there, do his thing and fight.”
Cook hit the 100-pitch number in the fifth, and Brady Smith came in to relieve. He allowed just one run and walked two across 1.2 innings, but the Cardinals had all the answers in the decisive fifth inning frame.
Three walks — including one with the bases loaded that brought in Abe Mullins — along with a sacrifice fly by Ben Fulks, a balk, a wild pitch that scored a run, and a run by Tielor Howie sealed the momentum shift for good.
GRC (23-13) advances to face Harrison County in the semifinals Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.
Scott’s season — and Dragan’s first as head coach — ends at 16-13. The Eagles graduate five seniors: Brock Ronnebaum, Trevor Pulsfort, Brady Smith, Chase O’Keefe, and Jonas Foltz. Four of the five were starters in Monday’s game.
Smith earned All-Tournament Team honors with two hits, four RBIs, and a stolen base.
“I’m really, really proud of them,” Dragan said. “I know it’s hard coming in with a first-year head coach, trying to build a relationship with a guy in just a few months before you graduate. I built a relationship with all these kids and I love them to death.”
CARDINALS 6, EAGLES 5
SCOTT — 040-100-0 — 5-5-3
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK — 001-140-x — 6-3-0
RBI — (GRC) Freeman, Fulks, Todd (S) Smith 4, Ty Cook
2B — (S) Ty Cook
WP — Campbell. LP — Smith.
Records: George Rogers Clark 23-13, Scott 16-13