The Summerville Excessive Faculty baseball group was driving probably the greatest seasons in program historical past earlier than working into top-seeded Bradshaw Christian.
Summerville's 2024 marketing campaign that turned across the program's trajectory got here to an unlucky finish Wednesday night time in entrance of the house crowd, with the scoreboard in proper area carrying unhealthy information for Bears followers: Bradshaw Christian, so much; Summerville, a bit.
The 18-2 closing rating was proof of a complete collapse for the Bears after one other aggressive begin towards the Satisfaction, who scored 11 runs within the sixth inning and broke the sport open late.
“It's not onerous to see that they're a extremely good group over there and there's lots of strain to play excellent,” Bears head coach John Baldwin stated after the loss. “We gave it our all, we didn't surrender.” This group labored onerous and beat us.”
Not like Sport 1, Bradshaw Christian didn’t enable Summerville to strike first blood.
A mixture of early hits for the Satisfaction and early errors for the Bears allowed Bradshaw Christian to attain 4 runs within the prime of the second inning, with the third and fourth runs coming with two outs after a pair of good hits by Whitney.
Shortstop Lucca Peterson was lastly in a position to put out the final batter of the inning on a floor ball between second and third, and the Bears struck.
Summerville picked up some velocity within the backside of the inning, Liam Evans received on base and Aidan Ripley dropped a pleasant bunt to place runners on first and third, then proper fielder Marcus Rodriguez laid down a sacrifice bunt to carry Evans house for the Bears. first rating.
Brody Peters and leadoff hitter Lucca Peterson flied out to deep middle area, slicing the Bears' momentum as they led 4-1.
The Satisfaction held on Whitney and the Summerville protection for 3 extra runs within the prime of the third inning, together with a pair of back-to-back homers in the identical spot over the middle area fence by Micah Nicholson and Landon Carter to make it 7-1.
“I believe we received in over our heads,” Whitney stated. “Each video games we hung with them by way of the primary 4 innings, then one huge inning let it slip away and that was it.
Summerville then constructed a superb defensive power, however the harm was already performed. Whitney and the Bears received out of the following two innings clear, together with a clutch shutout with the bases loaded within the prime of the fifth.
Titan Calise, often a pitcher for the Bears, already had two innings of labor towards Satisfaction batters Monday when he got here on to interchange Whitney within the prime of the sixth, and it confirmed Wednesday.
Bradshaw Christian pounded the gifted junior into the mound, hitting or strolling the primary six batters of the inning because the rating went up 10-2 earlier than David Wiser hit a grand slam to make it 14-2 and power one other pitching change.
In opposition to a program with the perfect faculty expertise in Division I, the Bears had been merely outmatched.
Freshman pitcher Evan Roberson had just a few runs within the prime of the sixth earlier than shortstop Lucca Peterson grounded out to shut it out.
There was no fanfare for the Bears' historic marketing campaign because it was punctuated by a painful loss, however gamers and coaches alike stated they may keep in mind this season for what it was — a turnaround 12 months for Summerville baseball.
“This 12 months, we modified the tradition of this faculty, this program,” Whitney stated. “It was a terrific 12 months. I'm simply grateful for everybody.”
“Bradshaw is only a gifted group, you could possibly inform they put within the work,” Rodriguez added. “I positively suppose we might have defended towards them and it shouldn't have ended the way in which it did, however that's simply the way in which it goes.
Trying to the long run, Baldwin stated he believes future Bears groups will take a look at this as a blueprint for fulfillment.
“It's going to be a simple group to recollect,” Baldwin stated. “It is a group that lots of (groups) will examine themselves to and study from. That is the group that mainly put us again on the map.
“Not solely did they play properly, they modified the tradition right here. They labored onerous, modified the way in which we do issues. They positively did extra than simply win ball video games.”
