Sometimes the good guys win.
In a time when we more often see underhanded tactics rewarded and the world of sports drifts away from an idealized past, the West Greene baseball team warmed the heart of many on Sunday afternoon by taking down Johnson County 13-1 in the District 1-2A Tournament.
“This was a big win for us, it was good to come out and play the way that we did,” West Greene coach Adrian Sauceman said. “We lost to these guys on Friday night, so it felt good to get a big win like this. We started hot and had a big first inning, and that set the tone right away. I’m very proud of them, they did a great job.”
Lighting and heavy rain passed through Mosheim on Friday night preventing the Longhorns and Buffaloes from getting in their decisive semifinal contest. The district tournament had always been scheduled to finish on Saturday, and Chuckey-Doak had already claimed its championship spot.
Late on Friday night Johnson County tousled the whole tournament by refusing to show up on Saturday to play West Greene and then let the tournament finish as agreed to on Saturday. That led to late night phone calls with TSSAA, athletic directors and league coaches, but ultimately no agreement. The Longhorns were not going to show up. Excuses were given, and rationale was conjectured, but none were particularly compelling.
That meant when Sunday rolled around fans from across the district, and local sports world at large, were there to cheer on the Buffaloes, and they were not disappointed. West Greene jumped in front quickly and left those fans smiling at the end of the day by delivering a beat down.
“It feels amazing to get this win today,” West Greene senior Conner Campbell said. “This is probably the most complete game we have played. We came in to today with a vengeance and we wanted to make sure we sent them packing.”
The win sent West Greene to the league title game and secured a spot in the Region 1-2A Tournament which will begin on Friday at Chuckey-Doak.
“This is four in a row for us, and before last year this program had never been to the region three years in a row. That’s awesome for these seniors and not a whole of people can say that. But the job is not done,” Sauceman said.
West Greene wasted little time getting started and took a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Conner Campbell started his big day at the plate quickly by firing the first pitch of the contest over the shortstop for a single.
Campbell finished 3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.
“I was trying to hit first-pitch fastball, if I see a first pitch I can hit I’m going to try and hit it as hard as I can. Being the first one up to bat I feel like hitting is contagious. If the leadoff guy gets on it sets the rhythm for the rest of the team,” Campbell said.
Jhonen Bath pushed across the first run of the day when he sent a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Campbell to score easily. From there things quickly got away from the Longhorns, as they committed three errors in the dirt with two outs. Two scored when Brandon Hunter hit a ball to the second baseman that was thrown off target on its way to first base. Hunter scored when Bronson Brown’s swat was booted by the shortstop.
Campbell came up for the second time in the inning and launched a two-run double into left field to push the lead to 6-0.
The Buffaloes found two more runs in the third inning, again because of Campbell. Jake Greene led off with a walk and Ethan Carpenter let a ball carry into deep right field for a double. Campbell came up next and rocketed a ball over the second baseman for a two-run single and an 8-0 West Greene lead.
In the fourth inning Bath used his legs to push the advantage to 9-0. He started by sending a shot through the left side. He quickly stole second, and when the throw to catch him stealing third went into left field Bath scored before another runner reached base.
Johnson County got on the board in the bottom of the fourth frame. Carson Jennings started things by dropping a single into shallow centerfield. He scored from second on a line drive to right field by Grayson Espinoza. The Longhorns earned three of their four hits on Sunday in the fourth inning.
West Greene was able to find four more runs in the top of the fifth inning, which proved enough to end the game early by run rule. Campbell led off again and was smartly walked on four pitches this time. Cox laid down a bunt single, and Campbell scored on a groundout by Braden McCamey.
Cox and Kaven Greene scored on a pair of wild pitches by Ethan Smith.
Smith came on in relief on Sunday and threw 1 2/3 innings. If the tournament had ended on Saturday, as originally scheduled, Smith would have been ineligible to throw because of pitch-count rules.
Hunter knocked in the final run of the day when he blasted a double to the fence in right field.
McCamey earned the win on the mound. In four innings he struck out two, walked one and allowed four hits on just 50 pitches.
Avery Jones took the loss for the Longhorns. In 2 1/3 innings he struck out three, walked two and allowed six hits.
At the plate Bath went 2-for-2 for West Greene with an RBI. Cox went 2-for-4. Hunter and Carpenter each had a double.
