DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
KINGSLAND – The Bellmont Braves dug deep and crawled all the way back in Thursday’s sectional championship game, knotting the game at 3-3 after Mississinewa had led the whole way, only to have the wheels fall off in the eighth inning, with the Indians ultimately scoring five times for an 8-3 victory.
It was a game of contact and collisions, with three moments defining the game.
The first collision came in the second inning and was perhaps the most consequential play of the first seven innings. After Amiya Paar-Inman hit a hard ground ball in the hole at shortstop to lead off the second inning, she attempted to take second on a ground ball hit by Tarrah Tegarden to second baseman Finnley Godsey’s right. As Godsey attempted to shuffle the ball to Aaliyah Faurote for the out, Parr-Inman ran into the back of Godsey. She was ruled safe by the umpire and allowed to stay at second base.
Two batters later, the second collision occurred. With Paar-Inman now on third and Tegarden standing on second base, Jaeli Miller hit a ball to the left field gap. Left fielder Carissa Mickley and center fielder Taylor Bauer met the ball at the same time. Mickley came up with the ball nestled squarely in her glove, but she also caught a right hook to the head from Bauer. Mickley miraculously held on to the ball and stayed on her feet. A moment of shock from both outfielders was exploited by Mississinewa, as both runners tagged up and began to advance as Mickley begged Bauer to take the ball out of her hand so she could crumple to the ground in pain.
By the time Bauer did grasp the ball, Tegarden was already halfway home and the Indians pulled off an unusual two-run sacrifice fly to take the lead at 2-1.
The Bellmont lead from the bottom of the first did not last long. Bauer had tripled in Godsey for the first run of the game, but she was stranded at third to end the first.
The third collision was easily the most memorable moment of the game and it occurred in a wild top of the fifth inning. Mississinewa leadoff hitter Brooklynn Nash got her only hit of the game to start things and Allie Trejo, the Indians’ center fielder, continued the rally with a two-strike hit.
Confusion ensued on a pop fly where the infield met the grass in the hole at shortstop. The ball was dropped and a throw was made to get the lead runner at third, with both runners planted on their original bases, but to the surprise of the Bellmont dugout, the umpire reiterated his call of infield fly. The Braves got a second out in the inning on a fly ball to Bauer in center, and that brought up Parr-Inman. She singled to center, scoring Nash from second to make it 3-1.
Jarrah Tegarden then came up and hit the first pitch for a single to center field. Trejo was waved home by the third base coach for Mississinewa.
Disrespecting the arm of Taylor Bauer, the Indian center fielder found herself staring down the third base line at a perfectly-positioned Emily Bleke. Trejo lowered her shoulder and honored the late Pete Rose with an explosive collision at the plate. Bleke held on to the ball and with one swift motion of his right arm, the home plate umpire called Trejo out and ejected her from the game, setting off a frenzy of arguments that reached both dugouts and both teams’ dads.
Bleke walked away from the incident without seemingly any damage, but Trejo lay in agony in the dirt for several minutes before being helped off by a trainer. She spent the rest of the game in the dugout.
Ironically it was Trejo’s replacement, Jaci Crick, who delivered the biggest hit of the fateful eighth inning. She finished 2-for-2 at the plate.
The Braves struggled to score against Nash, but they finally broke through in the sixth. Godsey was plunked on a two-strike pitch and Bella Ashley smashed a single. Coach Mindy Buuck made a bold call and called for the double steal and it worked – Godsey scored on a ball hit to the first baseman by Oni Krueckeberg for the second out.
That left the fate of the game to Taylor Sutter and she hit a 2-1 pitch the other way for a single to tie the game.
Mississinewa strung together six hits in the eighth, winning in a much different way than they did in the regular season in extra innings against the Braves. That game was won on a walk-off home run by Charleigh Baledge. This time it was the Indians putting the ball in play that led them to the sectional trophy.
Down five runs, the Braves did not give up in the bottom of the eighth. Bella Ashley and Taylor Bauer both singled and the Braves loaded the bases, but the next hit did not come and the season came to an end.
Ashley finished the game with two strikeouts. Just three of her eight runs were earned in the loss.
Mississinewa out-hit the Braves 14-7. Bauer and Ashley each had two hits for Bellmont.
The Indians will play the winner of Bishop Dwenger and East Noble. The Saints pulled off a big upset by eliminating Leo in the first round on Memorial Day.
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