BARNEVELD - For almost six innings of a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal, the Argyle baseball team proved it was worthy of moving on to a sectional championship game for the second straight year.
But then everything came crashing down on the Orioles.
Highland stormed back from a two-run deficit to score six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and stun Argyle 9-6 Tuesday. Rio defeated Highland 9-7 in the sectional final to advance to state.
"I told the guys this one will hurt for a while especially for the seniors," Argyle coach Jeff Solberg said. "We felt like we were in control. It's actually harder to take a game like this than to get blown out."
Argyle (17-11) was hoping for a better fate after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Argyle's Will Herman walked in the fourth to start the rally. Freshman Brent Ritschard moved Herman into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Highland starting pitcher Austin Yager then walked junior Riley Ostby. Argyle senior Kyle Olson crushed a two-run triple to center field to tie the game at 3.
Yager entered the game with an 11-2 record and a 0.88 ERA. However, he struggled with his control. Yager walked eight batters and hit two as the Orioles tagged him for five runs, including four earned runs, in 41⁄3 innings.
The Orioles took the lead in the fifth. Junior Cam Treuthardt led off with a single to left. He stole second and took third on a wild throw into center. Argyle senior Colton Ploessl walked and when he stole second, Treuthardt got thrown out in a rundown between third base and the plate. Senior Brock Bruehlman walked and junior Derek Flannery delivered the go-ahead RBI single to left to score Ploessl and give the Orioles a 4-3 lead. Ritschard followed with a bloop RBI single just over first base off Highland relief pitcher Nate Michek to give the Orioles a 5-3 lead.
"It felt great," Flannery said. "I knew putting us up would give us a lot of momentum. That is what baseball is. It's a game of momentum. I knew it would boost our team."
It was a stunner to Flannery to lose a game after the Orioles seemed to be in control, but he embraced the team's accomplishments after the game.
"It's definitely tougher to take knowing that we were so close," Flannery said. "It's great that we could win back-to-back regional championships and make it back to sectionals for the second year in a row."
Solberg was excited by the way Flannery and Ritschard, who are at the bottom of the Orioles' lineup, came through in the clutch.
"For the two of them to come up in a big situation and to get a big hit speaks volumes about their character," Solberg said. "I don't think either one of them was hitting above .200. They have worked hard all year."
Despite the two runs, Solberg was left wanting more. The Orioles had the bases loaded with one out and the top of the lineup coming up to bat, but they couldn't tack on any more runs.
"When you get a lead on a good team you have to score more runs to put them away," Solberg said.
That left the door open and the Cardinals batted around the order and exploded for six runs in the sixth. Highland's Adam Wolfe doubled off Ploessl to lead off the sixth. Ploessl struck out Nate Robinson, but Robinson reached first base on a dropped third strike. Ploessl then walked Evan Rusch to load the bases. Yager reached on an error and the Cardinals scored a run to slice the Orioles' lead to 5-4. The big blow in the inning came on John Ross Linscheid's two-run single to left that gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead. The Orioles went to the bullpen and brought in Olson to pitch. Michek greeted him with a two-run double to extend the Cardinals' lead to 8-5.
Linscheid was a thorn in the side of the Orioles going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Linscheid also pitched the seventh to get the save and gave up one run on Ostby's RBI double to left. Argyle sophomore Collin Argue went 2-for-3.
"This is how it went when we played Highland in a doubleheader," Olson said of the back-and-forth late-game heroics. "We just didn't play to our potential. It seems like we always have one bad inning. Most of the time we hope that it is early on so we can fight back. Unfortunately, it happened a little later than we wanted it to."
Ploessl pitched five innings and gave up seven earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked seven. Flannery said the Orioles will miss senior leaders Bruehlman, Ploessl and Olson. Yet he is confident the Orioles can make another postseason run next year.
"We will still definitely have a chance to win a third straight regional championship next year," he said.
But then everything came crashing down on the Orioles.
Highland stormed back from a two-run deficit to score six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and stun Argyle 9-6 Tuesday. Rio defeated Highland 9-7 in the sectional final to advance to state.
"I told the guys this one will hurt for a while especially for the seniors," Argyle coach Jeff Solberg said. "We felt like we were in control. It's actually harder to take a game like this than to get blown out."
Argyle (17-11) was hoping for a better fate after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Argyle's Will Herman walked in the fourth to start the rally. Freshman Brent Ritschard moved Herman into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Highland starting pitcher Austin Yager then walked junior Riley Ostby. Argyle senior Kyle Olson crushed a two-run triple to center field to tie the game at 3.
Yager entered the game with an 11-2 record and a 0.88 ERA. However, he struggled with his control. Yager walked eight batters and hit two as the Orioles tagged him for five runs, including four earned runs, in 41⁄3 innings.
The Orioles took the lead in the fifth. Junior Cam Treuthardt led off with a single to left. He stole second and took third on a wild throw into center. Argyle senior Colton Ploessl walked and when he stole second, Treuthardt got thrown out in a rundown between third base and the plate. Senior Brock Bruehlman walked and junior Derek Flannery delivered the go-ahead RBI single to left to score Ploessl and give the Orioles a 4-3 lead. Ritschard followed with a bloop RBI single just over first base off Highland relief pitcher Nate Michek to give the Orioles a 5-3 lead.
"It felt great," Flannery said. "I knew putting us up would give us a lot of momentum. That is what baseball is. It's a game of momentum. I knew it would boost our team."
It was a stunner to Flannery to lose a game after the Orioles seemed to be in control, but he embraced the team's accomplishments after the game.
"It's definitely tougher to take knowing that we were so close," Flannery said. "It's great that we could win back-to-back regional championships and make it back to sectionals for the second year in a row."
Solberg was excited by the way Flannery and Ritschard, who are at the bottom of the Orioles' lineup, came through in the clutch.
"For the two of them to come up in a big situation and to get a big hit speaks volumes about their character," Solberg said. "I don't think either one of them was hitting above .200. They have worked hard all year."
Despite the two runs, Solberg was left wanting more. The Orioles had the bases loaded with one out and the top of the lineup coming up to bat, but they couldn't tack on any more runs.
"When you get a lead on a good team you have to score more runs to put them away," Solberg said.
That left the door open and the Cardinals batted around the order and exploded for six runs in the sixth. Highland's Adam Wolfe doubled off Ploessl to lead off the sixth. Ploessl struck out Nate Robinson, but Robinson reached first base on a dropped third strike. Ploessl then walked Evan Rusch to load the bases. Yager reached on an error and the Cardinals scored a run to slice the Orioles' lead to 5-4. The big blow in the inning came on John Ross Linscheid's two-run single to left that gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead. The Orioles went to the bullpen and brought in Olson to pitch. Michek greeted him with a two-run double to extend the Cardinals' lead to 8-5.
Linscheid was a thorn in the side of the Orioles going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Linscheid also pitched the seventh to get the save and gave up one run on Ostby's RBI double to left. Argyle sophomore Collin Argue went 2-for-3.
"This is how it went when we played Highland in a doubleheader," Olson said of the back-and-forth late-game heroics. "We just didn't play to our potential. It seems like we always have one bad inning. Most of the time we hope that it is early on so we can fight back. Unfortunately, it happened a little later than we wanted it to."
Ploessl pitched five innings and gave up seven earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked seven. Flannery said the Orioles will miss senior leaders Bruehlman, Ploessl and Olson. Yet he is confident the Orioles can make another postseason run next year.
"We will still definitely have a chance to win a third straight regional championship next year," he said.
