COSHOCTON Thanks to numerous clutch performances in Wednesday’s Division III district baseball championship game, third-seeded John Glenn put an end to a 37-year drought of reaching the regionals with a thrilling 1-0 nine-inning victory over Indian Valley at the Lake Park Complex.
Following the pulsating victory, veteran John Glenn head coach Brad Barclay was one happy man, not even minding the traditional Gatorade shower from his team following the emotional win.
“It just feels really good,” Barclay said of his Little Muskies finally putting an end to the regional drought. “A lot of these guys have been part of school history in football and now baseball -- which is great for those guys and something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Providing the offensive heroics for the Little Muskies with the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning was the duo of senior Colton Neptune and junior Chase Karling, who finally reached Indian Valley starter Evan Miller for the game’s only run.
Miller, who had held the Little Muskies scoreless with eight solid innings, went out for the ninth and promptly retired the first two hitters. But Neptune came up and stroked a double to the left-center gap.
That set the stage for Karling to deliver his third hit of the game, this time with a bloop hit to right that scored Neptune for the game's only run.
“Leave it to a senior in Colton Neptune to come up with the big double,” Barclay added. “Then Chase Karling came up big again in that eight hole for us, something he’s been doing all year.
“This team is just so resilient and has been all year,” Barclay said. “They are just going to keep fighting you to the end -- and that’s why they are in the position they are in. They just don’t know the meaning of the word quit, which is great.”
The Braves, who had a great season, finished at 18-4.
“Tough seeing someone lose a game in that fashion,” said Indian Valley head coach McCombs. “Both pitchers came out and threw well. They just got the big hit when they needed it, something we could not do.”
McCombs felt especially bad for Miller, who worked into the ninth inning allowing just the one run on six hits and two walks, while striking out eight.
“Evan saved his best performance for last,” McCombs said. “He really battled and threw the ball well tonight. Hate to see him lose after an effort like that.”
COSHOCTON Thanks to numerous clutch performances in Wednesday’s Division III District championship game, the third-seeded John Glenn Muskies put an end to a 37-year dry spell of reaching the regional tournament with a thrilling 1-0 nine inning victory over Indian Valley at the Lake Park Complex.