By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Miller High School baseball team has animal power on its side.
There’s Gator, a strategic and highly effective baserunning play.
There’s Big Al, the team’s adopted turtle mascot and lucky charm that comes with an encouraging precedent.
And then there’s the Cardinals (of Miller), who are district champions in baseball for the first time in 10 years.
Miller won its first district title since 2015 with a thrilling, 2-1 walk-off victory over Ash Grove in the Class 2 District 11 Tournament championship game at Marion C. Early High School in Morrisville on Tuesday night.
“It’s something you’ll always remember,” said Miller sophomore lefthander Jase Wilkinson, who had a stellar performance with 14 strikeouts over six innings. “Games like that, when it comes down close, it’s just every guy relying on each other. Right there, it took every single guy to come away with that win.”
The winning run was scored by sophomore catcher and 9-hole hitter Sam Ferguson, who was on third with the bases loaded and two outs.
The Cardinals called one of their favorite plays – Gator – which led to the runner on first teasing a steal to second then stopping as if he were caught in a run-down.
When Ash Grove threw the ball to first base, Ferguson sprinted home to score the winning run before the third out could be made.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“These kids will never forget that (play),” said Miller coach Justin Snider. “For the rest of their lives, they’ll talk about that.”
Snider, a big college baseball fan, said he borrowed the play from watching the University of Florida baseball team.
“They’re just so good at baserunning,” Snider said. “We just try to emulate a lot of the things we do based on (Florida), as much as that pains me to say as an Oklahoma guy.
“I figured if they could run plays at the Division I level like that, then so can we at the high school level.”
The Cardinals (21-5 overall) have used their pitching, defense and baserunning to produce the program’s best season in a decade.
“Sometimes, you just have to create runs any way that you can,” Snider said. “We practice baserunning so much, especially at the beginning of the year. Every Wednesday, we have our ‘All the little things’ practice. We hit all the little things we might do in a game. Fortunately, it worked out for us today.”
Tuesday’s title match was a pitching duel between Wilkinson and Ash Grove starter Kyler Reese.
Wilkinson, who pitched two innings of relief in Monday’s semifinal win over New Covenant Academy, was locked in from the start. He recorded 14 strikeouts to go with two hits and four walks (two intentional) allowed in his Tuesday outing.
“He’s a competitor,” Snider said. “He didn’t feel his best today, and he told me that from the beginning. We asked a lot from him tonight and he came through.”
Wilkinson put all the credit on his teammates.
“The guy behind the plate, Sam Ferguson, he’s doing a great job calling pitches back there,” Wilkinson said. “All the guys on the field have really helped me with this success. I couldn’t have done it without them. They’ve kept me in my zone.”
Since the start of May, Wilkinson has produced ace-like results. He struck out 16 in a win over Southwest, then 15 more in a 2-1 loss to Stockton in Miller’s season finale.
Wilkinson, who has over 100 strikeouts on the season, said he’s using a new windup which has led to higher totals on the radar gun.
“It’s jumped by velocity up a little bit,” Wilkinson said. “I’m living a little bit higher in the zone and I’m inducing swings, then trying to get that off-speed stuff lower in the zone to produce swings and misses as well.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
Wilkinson’s counterpart on Tuesday, Reese, was strong for Ash Grove. He limited Miller to just four hits over six innings while striking out four and walking three.
The Cardinals scored first on Nathan Hill’s RBI single in the bottom of the second. Ash Grove tied the game in the fourth inning with Ty Messsley’s RBI double.
For the season, Miller is allowing just 3.5 runs per game. The Cardinals’ No. 2 starter, Hayden Schnake, is also a sophomore like Wilkinson.
“We have a really solid lineup, momentum in the dugout and a solid pitching staff,” Wilkinson said. “Our relievers have been strong, too. We’re doing well.”
In the postgame celebration, the Cardinals brought out their newly adopted mascot – a turtle named Big Al. Snider explained the importance of having a lucky turtle in the dugout.
“In 2012, when I was at Clever, we found a turtle crawling in front of the dugout,” Snider said. “We took it, kept it as a pet and took it all the way to the final four with us.
“I’m not kidding you: Last week, I found a turtle crawling in front of the dugout. You bet your rear end that I took that turtle, and we take great care of the turtle. Hopefully, history repeats itself.”
For the record, Miller freshman and backup catcher Jerald Mart is the primary food provider for Big Al, Wilkinson said. The food of choice is worms.
The Cardinals will host New Heights Christian Academy in the Class 2 sectional round on Monday, May 26. The Cougars, who beat Miller 7-2 at home in the regular season, defeated Purdy 9-8 to win the District 12 title on Tuesday night.
“They’re very athletic and like to put pressure on you,” Snider said of Monday’s opponent. “It should be a great game.”
