By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
ROGERSVILLE, MO – Zach Watts struck out during his very first varsity at-bat against West Plains a little over a month ago.
To say the Logan-Rogersville freshman’s second attempt went a little better would be an understatement of the grandest proportions.
With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning and the bases loaded, Watts blasted a game-winning RBI single into left center to send the No. 2 Wildcats back to the Class 4 final four with a 3-2 victory over No. 10 Blair Oaks.
“I was just out there, you know,” Watts said of the pinch-hit appearance. “I was kind of feeling a little nervous out there and just had to do a job. I was just going out there, took a cut at it and just had to get one out there. It was a good, good feeling.”
While the surreal finish seemed to be ripped directly from the pages of a Hollywood script, Rogersville head coach Casey Ledl just had a late-game hunch.
A hunch that paid off in spades.
“It’s just one of those deals,” Ledl said. “We had another left-hander that we were going to bring out of the bullpen, so let’s go to Zach – and Zach was it, and Zach got it done. So, pretty excited.’
The game’s low-scoring pitcher’s duel took its time to materialize, especially after both hurlers struggled to find form in the first inning.
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Rogersville starter Nate Eakins found himself in an immediate jam after giving up a pair of walks, hitting a batter and surrendering an RBI single to Zane Halford that scored Jaden Rackers.
In the bottom half of the inning, Blair Oaks starter Wyatt Libbert didn’t fare much better, allowing a single, two walks and an RBI from Jackson Purse to score Jack Sutherland and tie the score at 1-1.
“It’s a big game – kids know that,” Ledl said. “I think both pitchers settled down in the second, and they really got in the groove.”
Blair Oaks struck again in the third inning when Nolan Laughlin’s two-out, RBI single scored Warren Davis, giving the Falcons a 2-1 advantage.
Rogersville pulled even two innings later when Eakins scored on an RBI single from Sutherland.
With Eakins’ pitch count climbing, Ledl brought Purse to the mound with a simple message.
“Win the game,” Purse said of his thought process. “It was definitely very stressful. I knew I had all of them (teammates) behind me. I knew they had my back. It was just very stressful.”
Stress aside, Purse was brilliant in relief.
The sophomore right-hander scattered three hits over the final four innings with five strikeouts.
For Ledl, the decision to go to Purse was an easy one.
“The one thing we’ve had this year that we’ve never had before is a bullpen,” Ledl said. “I mean, we really feel like we’re probably eight guys deep, and so we’re all automatically thinking, you know, we’ve got two, three kids over there. If this gets wild and goes 14, 15 innings, I think our bullpen is better than their bullpen, and we’re going to try to save some pitchers over there.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
In the bottom of the ninth, Rogersville got a golden opportunity when leadoff hitter Cooper Wagner was hit on the first pitch of his at-bat.
After a pair of wild pitches allowed Wagner to reach third with nobody out, Blair Oaks made the decision to load the bases by intentionally walking Purse and Easton Hampton.
Queue Watts’ heroics.
“When Coach told me I was going up to bat, I was just like, ‘Okay,’” Watts said. “I knew I could hit one out there. I was pretty confident. Pitcher was throwing decent, so I was just hunting fastballs, and I poked one out there.”
With the victory, the Wildcats are headed back to the Class 4 final four for the second time in the past four seasons.
“This group has been an outstanding group to coach,” Ledl said. “Man, you can see what they do. I mean, they’re energetic. They’re excited all the time. They’re excited to come to the yard, and our mantra for the last week or so has been ‘Earn more practices,’ and guess what? Boys, we got practice.”
Up next for Rogersville is a June 4 semifinal round matchup at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex against Sullivan.
Class 4 quarterfinal: Logan-Rogersville – 3, Blair Oaks – 2
Blair Oaks 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 | 2 7 0
Rogersville 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 | 3 5 0
