PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — In the bottom of the seventh with one out, Darlington elected to intentionally walk Ty Wagner and face Bryce Lenzendorf, a decision that would come back to haunt the Redbirds. Lenzendorf hit a walk-off to center, giving Prairie du Chien a 2-1 win in the regional semifinal on Tuesday, May 30.
“We liked the match up we had, as the hitter [Lenzendorf] had grounded out the previous two at-bats,” Darlington head coach Brad Solberg said. “The plan was for him to do that a third time, but I guess he had other ideas. Our backs were kind of against the wall in that situation.”
Up until that point, the Redbirds had gone toe to toe with the Blackhawks. Darlington worked around leadoff hits and walks to keep the game scoreless.
In fact, in the bottom of the second, Darlington intentionally walked Maddox Cejka to load the bases with two out. Starting pitcher Gage Banfield escaped the inning unscathed, getting Tommy Mara to ground out to first baseman Cannon Lancaster.
“I had confidence in Gage to get the job done in that situation,” Solberg said. “He isn’t afraid of the big moments. Getting out of that jam gave him the confidence to go the distance.”
Prairie du Chien scored first, though, in the next inning on a two-out error. Wagner singled to right, but Banfield got the next two outs via groundout. In the process, Wagner advanced to third. He then scored on an error by third baseman Carson Mosley. Banfield limited the damage to one run by striking out Dawson Eastman.
Darlington responded immediately in the top of the fourth to tie the game at one. Breylin Goebel and Reagan Jackson drew back-to-back walks, and Banfield moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Breylin Goebel used his speed to score on a passed ball.
“We came right back at them,” Solberg said. “The kids didn’t back down. It would have been really easy in that situation to put our heads down, but they chose to fight. It gave us a chance until the very end.”
The Redbirds greatest scoring opportunity after the fourth came in the sixth. Maddox Goebel reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and fly. Banfield walked to put runners on the corners, but Cejka struck Barrett Vieth out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Cejka led off with a double to left. He moved to third on a ground out to Jackson at short. Darlington then intentionally walked Wagner, who took second on the first pitch of Hunter Jones’s at-bat. The Redbirds walked Jones to load the bases with one out and create a force play. Lenzendorf rose to the occasion to hit a walk-off.
Despite the loss, Solberg was proud of the way his team battled with the SWC conference champions.
“The boys gave everything they had,” Solberg said. “I don’t think anyone expected us to be in that game, especially with Cejka throwing. Our kids didn’t flinch and played their hearts out. We just needed that one big jug hit with two outs and we have them. We had guys on all game, we just couldn’t break through. I am very proud of how they battled.”
Darlington’s three hits came from Riggs Black, Maddox Goebel and Jackson. Although he didn’t record a hit, Banfield reached twice via walk. Banfield suffered the loss, giving up one earned run on six hits. He struck out four and walked an uncharacteristic six.
The Redbirds concluded their 2023 season with a 13-10 record. Three players made the SWAL All-Conference team. (See Goebel, Banfield lead Redbirds in SWAL, below).
