GRAHAM – It was a game no one who attended will forget.
Petrolia was down to its last strike trailing by 15 runs Saturday afternoon in Game 2 of the Region I-2A final as Albany had its trip to Austin all but booked.
But the Lady Lions had to hold off pressing the confirmation button. That’s because the Lady Pirates never quit despite the dire circumstances.
They scratched out enough runs to prolong the game and scored a total of 16 runs in the fifth and sixth frames, making for a remarkable finish in a three-hour slugfest that included 28 hits and 28 walks.
In the end, it wasn’t enough as Albany pulled off a 21-17 victory, but Eric Simmons’ girls had nothing to hang their heads about as they went down fighting.
“Just the fight and character you showed coming back from 16-1. Giving yourself a chance to win the game – it says a lot about them,” a teary-eyed Simmons said after he’d embraced several of his girls. “It was a rollercoaster. Behind 15 runs and then we make a run and have a chance to win this.
“It was one for the books I guess. If we’d won, who knows what the third one had been like.”
The 10-run fifth inning that brought the game within 16-11 started with a bases-loaded walk and a hit by pitch scoring two runs. Petrolia’s Hannah Holey and Brionna Townsend had two-run doubles. The Lady Pirates also took advantage of a couple Albany errors with Raeley Mataska knocking Albany starter Reyna Garcia out of the game by driving in the 10th run.
“You’ve got to give credit to their kids. Most kids and coaching staffs would have quit in that situation, and their kids didn’t quit,” Albany coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “It’s inexcusable on our part and I hope it’s just a one-time thing, but the credit has to go to their kids.”
Albany extended its lead to 20-11 with four runs in the fifth off Lindy Alexander, but Petrolia’s senior pitcher led a sixth-inning charge with a two-run single.
Trailing by four runs in the seventh, Garcia returned and benefited from a line-out double play to erase a leadoff single. Jaidyn Jetton struck out swinging to end the high-scoring affair.
The first few innings were ones to forget for the Lady Pirates. Albany’s Elia Hebel was just getting started with an RBI single as part of a three-run first inning. The cleanup hitter also crushed a grand slam in the third to give the Lady Lions a 7-0 advantage.
Hebel began the seven-run fourth inning with a double and later added a bases-clearing double, giving her eight RBIs.
“She’s a great player, they’re a great team,” Simmons said. “I expect them to do well at the state tournament. As well as they hit the ball, they can compete with anybody.”
Alexander drove in a team-high four runs in her last high school game, while Brooklyn Bunch added three RBIs. It just wasn't enough as Albany’s lead was too big.
“If we could have completed the comeback, we could have had a lot of momentum heading into Game 3,” Simmons said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”