Down by four runs (5-1) headed into the fifth inning, the visitors from Hamilton County knew they needed to do work against the Benton Rangers (23-6).
After earning two runs, the Foxes put two runners back on bases. Then, a hard hit flew high to the center field wall. It went up and came back down directly into the glove of senior Oliver Davis who leaped into the air, reached over the fence and denied a 3-run homer by the Foxes.
Not stopping there, Davis threw a bullet to second baseman Gehrig Wynn who stepped on the bag for a double play to end the inning.
"I got a good read off the bat, but my left fielder called out 'fence' and gave me a chance," Davis said after the victory. "I was shocked that I actually caught it. Usually you just dream about making a play like that."
This play sparked the Rangers to turn up the competition in the bottom half of the inning. When they took their turn at the plate, the whole team contributed to the eight runs scored to finish with a 13-3 victory over the Foxes.
"Coach Davis and I were talking and I don't think we've seen a robbed home run in high school baseball," said Brett Blondi, Rangers' coach. "That would've tied the game, but Oliver got it and then we came out offensively and got things done."
The home team put the visitors to rest when senior Bryden Picklesimer came to bat with Derek Oxford and Tyson Houghland on base already. After seeing a few pitches, Picklesimer launched his own long fly ball. But it did not get caught by a Foxes' player at the fence--it sailed clear over the left-center field wall for a 3-run homerun to end the game.
Several other magical plays happened in the fifth that showed how much the Rangers can accomplish as a team.
It started with a ground rule double by Hamilton Page (with Brayden Summers already on base pinch running for Brett Bonenberger). Then, Parker Williams hit a base hit while Summers attempted to steal home, but was caught.
Ian McMahon came to the plate and fired an RBI line drive into right field which brought both Page and Williams home.
To move McMahon around the diamond, Davis bunted and the plate and then outran the throw for a base hit.
This brought up the top of the Rangers' order; Wynn rocketed a long fly into center field for an RBI double to bring in McMahon and Davis.
Oxford took his turn and patiently waited for a good ball to hit. Instead, he was walked while Wynn stole third base. Bringing attention to himself, Oxford intentionally got into a rundown, giving Wynn the opportunity to steal home. This strategy resulted in Oxford making it to second base.
Houghland came up next and got a base hit to bring up Picklesimer for the final, powerful hit of the game.
"I pretty much knew it was gone after I hit it," Picklesimer said. "It was a pretty good read on the ball, I just took off to first."
Prior to the fifth inning, the Rangers went down by one run early in the first, but they quickly snuffed out the Foxes' lead with four runs in the second inning. McMahon batted in Page, Wynn brought home Williams, Oxford was walked and with the bases already loaded, McMahon came home, and finally Davis sprinted home while the Foxes went for the out at first base against Houghland.
The score remained locked at 4-1 until the bottom of the fourth where the home team added one more run thanks to an RBI single from Picklesimer. This gave the Rangers a 5-1 lead going into the magical inning where the Foxes could only score two more runs before Davis halted their offensive push.
On the mound for the Rangers was junior Zack Avery who threw for all five innings, giving up the three runs and nine hits while earning two strike outs.
In the field, the Rangers were as strong as they were at bat. Along with his fence catch, Davis made a diving catch in center field. Oxford was kept on his toes at short stop and with the help of Wynn and Williams, the Rangers made a double play to stop the offensive push of the Foxes in the fourth inning. Houghland was also kept awake in left field with several easily-grabbed pop fly balls.
This win over Hamilton County seems to be just what the Rangers needed after taking two tough losses at home. With Regionals only a week away, they still have some things to work on before the post-season.
When asked how he felt about his team's odds in Regionals, Blondi said: "Not great… they're capable of beating anyone, but we make mistakes, we are not fine. We miss offensive plays, we ground out… those are thoughts that we talk about, but they haven't been on the spot like this all season."
