BLANCHARDVILLE - It's a rarity and one of the most exciting plays in baseball when a player steals home.
With River Ridge pitcher Derek Posten in his windup, Argyle senior Alec Treuthardt did just that in the bottom of the seventh inning. Treuthardt stole home and slid in before Posten could deliver his pitch to give the Orioles a thrilling 12-11 walk-off win.
"It's incredible," said Treuthardt who went 4-for-5 with three stolen bases, three runs scored, two RBI and came inches away from a walk-off three-run home run. "We had talked about how slow he was in his windup a couple innings before. We just made a heads-up play. It was a hard-fought game."
Argyle (3-2, 3-0 Six Rivers East) capped the doubleheader sweep by beating the Timberwolves 18-7 in the second game of the twinbill that was moved to Blanchardville because Argyle's field was too wet. The lead changed hands three times in the final two innings of the first game. The Orioles came back from a 7-2 deficit to win the first game and overcame a 4-0 deficit in the second game to win 18-7 in five innings in the nightcap.
"We won both of those games by being able to hit the ball," Argyle coach Chuck Bredeson said. "I don't know what it is about those first few innings. It takes us a couple of innings to wake up. It's really nice to come back."
The Orioles looked to have Game 1 in their grasp with a four-run sixth to take a 9-7 lead. Argyle sophomore Will Herman walked and sophomore Derek Flannery reached on an error in the sixth. Treuthardt singled and junior Kyle Olson had an RBI bunt single to give the Orioles an 8-7 lead. Junior Colton Ploessl then lined an RBI single to right to give the Orioles a short-lived 9-7 lead.
The Timberwolves battled back and regained the lead with a four-run seventh off Olson. River Ridge's Dylan Hazen reached on an error and Olson walked Alex Morgan. River Ridge's Ben Ertz, who went 3-for-3, singled to left to load the bases. River Ridge's Brock Kazda came through with a game-tying RBI single to tie the game at 9. Zach Ertz delivered an RBI single and Kazda scored on a wild pitch to give the Timberwolves an 11-9 lead.
Herman again started the Orioles' rally in the seventh. He walked and Flannery was hit by a pitch. Treuthardt then crushed a ball to center that hit the fence and trickled back into fair play for an RBI double to cut the Timberwolves' lead to 11-10.
"I just worried about running," Treuthardt said. "I saw it hit the fence. I told my coach I cried when I got to second after it hit the fence."
Sophomore Riley Ostby came through with a suicide squeeze bunt to knock in Flannery to tie the game at 11. That set the stages for Treuthardt's steal of home.
"When he (Posten) winds up as a lefty he almost has his back to third base," Bredeson said. "That was the first time he winded up with guys on base for whatever reason. As soon as he (Treuthardt) went, I knew he was going to score. He's really fast."
The Orioles came through in the clutch going 6-for-13 hitting with runners in scoring position. They left seven on base and hit into two double plays on line drives in the first and fourth. Olson went 2-for-2 while Ploessl and sophomore Kyle Emberson were each 2-for-3. Olson pitched three innings and gave up two runs on six hits to get the win. He struck out six and walked two.
"This just shows that the guys are really resilient and don't give up," Treuthardt said. "We struggled the first couple of innings and then we came back."
Ploessl pitched a complete game in the second game to get the win. He gave up seven runs in five innings. Ploessl struck out four and walked five. The Orioles and Timberwolves each had five errors.
"He kept the ball down," Bredeson said of Ploessl. "When we made plays, it was good. If we wouldn't have had five errors he probably would have had 20 less pitches."
The Orioles broke the game open with a seven-run fourth. Emberson had a key RBI single and Olson had a clutch two-run single. Emberson finished 2-for-3 and Olson was 2-for-4 with four RBI.
The Orioles put the game away batting around the order in a nine-run fifth. Treuthardt had a two-run single and junior Brock Bruehlman had a two-run single. Freshman Colin Argue delivered a two-run single.
Argyle was able to come through with four sacrifice bunts and two bunts for singles in the doubleheader. The Orioles put the pressure on the Timberwolves' defense.
"That is what we try to do in practice," he said. "I always want to have them ready to bunt. A lot of teams don't even believe in bunting."
With River Ridge pitcher Derek Posten in his windup, Argyle senior Alec Treuthardt did just that in the bottom of the seventh inning. Treuthardt stole home and slid in before Posten could deliver his pitch to give the Orioles a thrilling 12-11 walk-off win.
"It's incredible," said Treuthardt who went 4-for-5 with three stolen bases, three runs scored, two RBI and came inches away from a walk-off three-run home run. "We had talked about how slow he was in his windup a couple innings before. We just made a heads-up play. It was a hard-fought game."
Argyle (3-2, 3-0 Six Rivers East) capped the doubleheader sweep by beating the Timberwolves 18-7 in the second game of the twinbill that was moved to Blanchardville because Argyle's field was too wet. The lead changed hands three times in the final two innings of the first game. The Orioles came back from a 7-2 deficit to win the first game and overcame a 4-0 deficit in the second game to win 18-7 in five innings in the nightcap.
"We won both of those games by being able to hit the ball," Argyle coach Chuck Bredeson said. "I don't know what it is about those first few innings. It takes us a couple of innings to wake up. It's really nice to come back."
The Orioles looked to have Game 1 in their grasp with a four-run sixth to take a 9-7 lead. Argyle sophomore Will Herman walked and sophomore Derek Flannery reached on an error in the sixth. Treuthardt singled and junior Kyle Olson had an RBI bunt single to give the Orioles an 8-7 lead. Junior Colton Ploessl then lined an RBI single to right to give the Orioles a short-lived 9-7 lead.
The Timberwolves battled back and regained the lead with a four-run seventh off Olson. River Ridge's Dylan Hazen reached on an error and Olson walked Alex Morgan. River Ridge's Ben Ertz, who went 3-for-3, singled to left to load the bases. River Ridge's Brock Kazda came through with a game-tying RBI single to tie the game at 9. Zach Ertz delivered an RBI single and Kazda scored on a wild pitch to give the Timberwolves an 11-9 lead.
Herman again started the Orioles' rally in the seventh. He walked and Flannery was hit by a pitch. Treuthardt then crushed a ball to center that hit the fence and trickled back into fair play for an RBI double to cut the Timberwolves' lead to 11-10.
"I just worried about running," Treuthardt said. "I saw it hit the fence. I told my coach I cried when I got to second after it hit the fence."
Sophomore Riley Ostby came through with a suicide squeeze bunt to knock in Flannery to tie the game at 11. That set the stages for Treuthardt's steal of home.
"When he (Posten) winds up as a lefty he almost has his back to third base," Bredeson said. "That was the first time he winded up with guys on base for whatever reason. As soon as he (Treuthardt) went, I knew he was going to score. He's really fast."
The Orioles came through in the clutch going 6-for-13 hitting with runners in scoring position. They left seven on base and hit into two double plays on line drives in the first and fourth. Olson went 2-for-2 while Ploessl and sophomore Kyle Emberson were each 2-for-3. Olson pitched three innings and gave up two runs on six hits to get the win. He struck out six and walked two.
"This just shows that the guys are really resilient and don't give up," Treuthardt said. "We struggled the first couple of innings and then we came back."
Ploessl pitched a complete game in the second game to get the win. He gave up seven runs in five innings. Ploessl struck out four and walked five. The Orioles and Timberwolves each had five errors.
"He kept the ball down," Bredeson said of Ploessl. "When we made plays, it was good. If we wouldn't have had five errors he probably would have had 20 less pitches."
The Orioles broke the game open with a seven-run fourth. Emberson had a key RBI single and Olson had a clutch two-run single. Emberson finished 2-for-3 and Olson was 2-for-4 with four RBI.
The Orioles put the game away batting around the order in a nine-run fifth. Treuthardt had a two-run single and junior Brock Bruehlman had a two-run single. Freshman Colin Argue delivered a two-run single.
Argyle was able to come through with four sacrifice bunts and two bunts for singles in the doubleheader. The Orioles put the pressure on the Timberwolves' defense.
"That is what we try to do in practice," he said. "I always want to have them ready to bunt. A lot of teams don't even believe in bunting."
