HS Baseball: Willis Fends Off Late Comeback In Extra-Inning Victory

OAK RIDGE NORTH, TX -- The Willis Wildkats had to stave off a last-minute comeback attempt from the Oak Ridge War Eagles to secure a nearly three-hour 4-3 win in eight innings.

Both teams struggled through the first three innings to find any control at the plate. Dueling pitchers, Jacob Evans and Matt DeAnda, were both lights out for their respective teams through the first three.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Willis Head Coach Brett Washburn discussed how early runs would have been a beneficial boost ahead of the closing stretch.

“It would have been good if we could have scored a little bit sooner in the game,” said Washburn. “I think we had some opportunities to do it. Ultimately, their guy, Evans, was pitching very well.”

Despite striking out against Evans four times through the opening three innings, the Wildkats were the first to strike through miscues from the War Eagle ace.

Gage Blinka drew a walk in his lead-off at-bat to start the fourth inning. Through multiple steals and a pitch that ricocheted past the Oak Ridge catcher, he came home to secure the first run of the game and a valuable 1-0 lead for the Wildkats.

Willis seemed poised to take this lead and momentum into the latter half of the game and walk out comfortably with a win, but the War Eagles were doing everything in their power to fight back into the contest.

Aggressive base running from the Oak Ridge runners saw frequent close calls that could have resulted in players being thrown out. One such instance came in the bottom of the fifth where a collision at the plate from a War Eagle lead runner led to Willis’ catcher being ejected for obstruction while still being awarded the out.

The two other Oak Ridge runners failed to take advantage of the change behind the plate for Willis, but the threat of War Eagle runners hung heavy over the Wildkats.

A scoreless fifth for both teams brought the heart of the Wildkat lineup to bat, and they feasted on the weary arms of the multiple War Eagle pitchers they faced.

Back-to-back walks from Evans saw him pulled in favor of Jacob Howard, who only lasted two at-bats after issuing two more walks in just as many batters while simultaneously bringing in a Wildkat run.

“These guys are good at going with the flow. They can be loose and relaxed with each other,” said Washburn on his team’s batting. “Anything that gets thrown at them or any adversity the game has, they can go with it.”

Oak Ridge’s third and final pitcher of the inning, Devin Jones, finally escaped the brutal situation with only one more Willis run conceded.

The 3-0 Willis lead was built dangerously late, but timely hitting from Oak Ridge would save the team

A catastrophic string of back-to-back hit batters and an RBI single from Oak Ridge’s Mikey Grayson started the bottom of the sixth inning with the War Eagles’ comeback hopes well intact.

Jonnell Rodriguez was the War Eagle that sealed the deal with only one out by bringing Grayson home for a sudden 3-3 tie ahead of the seventh inning.

The War Eagles threatened to steal the lead due to Rodriguez and Joshua Matte standing on base with one out, but the Wildkats clamped down in the final two outs to keep the damage down to a tied game.

Both teams fought through an intense seventh inning that ultimately led to neither squad breaking the deadlock, meaning extra innings had to be played.

At the start of extra innings, the Wildkats looked to be out of gas with two runners out and none on, but discipline at the plate and tired arms from the Oak Ridge pitching staff got Willis runners into scoring position without risking outs.

Back-to-back walks from the bottom of the Willis lineup pushed Jorden Taylor into scoring position before Zadin Cannon hit the only double of the game for either team to secure the much-needed RBI.

The 4-3 lead put the Wildkats back in front, but they needed to play lock-down defense if they hoped to leave Oak Ridge with the win.

A lead-off hit-by-pitch drawn by Tyson Robertson constituted the tying run that would have extended the game had he come home for the War Eagles. But, confident fielding, strong pitching from Xane Burns, and a down part of the Oak Ridge lineup led to three outs in four at-bats to end the game just before the three-hour mark.

“It was a big time hit from Zadin [Cannon] that got us on the board,” said Washburn. “Then Xane Burns did what Xane Burns has been doing for us since district and that’s put zeros on the board.”

Willis’ critical road win cements them in the second-place spot in the district standings, but the next game in the series will determine who will stand above the other on Friday night.