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An absolute marathon of a game between two schools that could play each other next week in the 3A Angola sectional went all the way to the 13th inning before the home Patriots found the winning run in a 3-2 victory over Garrett.
If the two teams, who are on opposite sides of the Angola bracket, meet again on Memorial Day, they will certainly be familiar with each other.
Brady Richman drew the start for Heritage and was outstanding, holding the Railroaders without a run or a hit for the first five innings.
Not concerned about the unwritten rules of the game, the Railroaders broke up the no-hit bid for Richman by bunting with the first man up in the top of the sixth on an 0-2 pitch. Another bunt moved the runner over and a third successive bunt brought in a run with good baserunning and the visitors led 1-0.
Garrett bunted for another base hit in the seventh against the tall Richman, but he got out of the inning with two groundouts and the home team needed a run in their last at-bat to win or send the game to extras.
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It was Richman who led off the seventh inning and he helped his own cause with just the fourth hit of the game for the Patriots off starter Lucas Collins. Preston Fields took Richman’s spot on the base paths and took second on a ground out, then third on a wild pitch and tied the game on a ground ball.
Both teams scored in the first extra inning, with Garrett capitalizing on two errors by the Heritage shortstop to touch Richman for a second run in his final inning of work.
The Patriots tied the game for the second time in similar fashion. Caleb Abbott reached on an infield error, then grabbed extra bases on a couple of passed balls and scored with Richman at the plate. Richman’s final contribution to the game was a bases-empty single.
Heritage then called on Landon Lybarger in relief and he ended up pitching five one-hit innings, striking out six and earning the win when the Patriots finally scored in the 13th.
Noah Redmon, who had committed the two errors earlier in the game that led to a Garrett run, made up for it with a ground ball that scored the winning run after Heritage had already made an out at the plate.
The win pushed the Patriots’ record to 16-3 ahead of their game at Canterbury Friday.