It’s tied at the bottom of the seventh inning, so the game goes to an eighth. It’s tied at the bottom of the eighth inning, so it goes to a ninth. This trend continued through the game until Anderson secured the 10-6 victory in thirteen innings over Austin High. This match-up had every emotion associated with it: from frustration to tension to surprise to joy, it was a roller coaster for both players and spectators. The seniors took the field for the final time as Trojans, so it was only fitting that their last game was one they will never forget.
First up to bat for Anderson, Ed Small singled and then advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from teammate Andrew Mason. After Karsten Fidler drew a walk, Small was poised to score and was able to cross home courtesy of a sac fly from Rylan Unnasch to notch the first run. There was no answer from Austin High until the bottom of the second inning when they knotted it up 1-1. The Maroons broke the tie when they earned two runs late in the third, but they didn’t maintain their lead for long. Another single from Small scored a run for the Trojans, followed by a line drive by Andrew Mason which tallied another two for Anderson, quickly putting them back on top 4-3.
A ground ball from Gus Begert in the top of the fifth put him on second after an error from Austin High, and he was able to tally another run after a single to center field by DH Travis Grey. At this point, the score was 5-3, and the Maroons had not scored since the third inning, but late in the sixth, Austin High managed to tie it up 5-5. By the seventh, tensions were running high as the Trojans tried their hardest (and succeeded) to prevent the Maroons from scoring in the bottom of the inning. In high school baseball, games are only played to seven innings instead of the traditional nine, so the tied score forced the teams to play an extra inning (or six).
Save a couple of singles, the eighth and ninth were uneventful as runners from both teams were left stranded on the bases. Things started to get interesting again in the top of the tenth after singles from Seth Crowley and Trevin Winebright put Anderson in a position to score for the first time in three innings. A sac fly from Small allowed the Trojans to break the tie and put them up by one, 6-5. Austin High was unwilling to let the game go easily and tallied a run in the bottom of the inning to even the score at six apiece. Nothing came of the eleventh or twelfth, and by this point, the game had gone on for upwards of three hours and had gone to five extra innings. The stakes were high, and the tension was palpable as players, coaches, and spectators watched the field.
A walk drawn by Begert put him on first early in the top of the thirteenth, closely followed by a game-changing home run from senior Travis Grey that scored two runs for Anderson. This was the first time a team scored since the bottom of the tenth and was a major turning point in the match-up. “I was very excited, and it also gave us a lot of energy in that inning that we used to finish the game,” Grey said. “It’s also a really great feeling to have my last high school at bat to be a homer in extra innings.”
Following Grey’s dinger, Stephen Szygenda hit a left-field homer of his own that notched another run for Anderson and widened their lead to three (9-6). A final single by Andrew Mason earned the tenth run for the Trojans, and Austin High knew they had lost it for good. The Maroons failed to make up their deficit, and the game ended 10-6 with an Anderson victory on the road.
The Trojans went through three pitchers in order to beat Austin High: Ben Waisman, Andrew Mason, and Derek Paiz. Sophomore Ben Waisman started on the mound for Anderson, throwing six innings and allowing five hits. Mason came in from the bullpen, allowing no hits and pitching the seventh to try to break the tie. Once the match-up went into extra innings, Paiz relieved Mason and threw six innings to close it out.
Anderson totaled 22 hits on the day. DH Travis Grey led the team with five hits in seven at bats, including four singles and a home run on his final time at the plate. His homer came at the perfect time which gave the team the energy they needed to finish out the game.
Overall, this game was an unforgettable and exciting way to finish baseball season. It showed the Trojans’ determination and stamina as they worked for every single run to end the game in their favor.
