Season is finished. We made it to the title game. Our format is an alteration of double elim. Eight teams at state. It works normally until you get to the last four teams. Then they arrange it so that there are no rematches if possible. The team that went 3-0 is automatically in the championship game, but still plays a "semifinal" game. If they win, they play the winner if the other matchup and have to be beaten twice. If they lose, the team that beat them plays the winner of the other game and the winner of that game meets them for a winner-take-all title game.
We matched up against the 3-0 team. Dalton got the start and struggled with an unbelievably tight strike zone. He couldn't get ahead in the count, so he couldn't establish any off speed. They got 3 hits off of him. One shouldn't have been ruled a hit. With a man on first, the kid put down a sac bunt. Dalton slipped and fell on his ass picking it up. The guy from first tried to go to third and he nailed him for the out. The other two hits were triples.
He had to leave the game in the sixth while we were uo 5-2. He had walked the first two batters and then K'd the third. Our closer/#3 starter came in and got what looked to be a 3-6-3 double play, but we didn't get the call at first. He then proceeded to give up three runs and the game was tied.
It stayed 5-5 going into the bottom of the 7th. After two guys flied out to the warning track, our #3 hit one off the top of the wall in right, then our #4 drew a walk. Dalton then lined a 3-1 pitch off the left field wall for the walk off double.
We advanced to play the team that beat us 2-0 in the second round. We started our #2 who had struggled lately. However, he did not struggle on this day, throwing a 79 pitch complete game 2-hitter to win 3-1 and put us in the championship.
So, we played University again. They had three losses on the season and we had tow of those. However, we were out of pitching and theybhad their ace. It was ugly - very ugly. We started the #2 who had 31 pitches left and he was just too tired and never made it out of the first. After that, it was JV pitching and we got routed 21-2. It was the first time we had been run ruled since 2012.
Their stud hit for the cycle and added a second HR for good measure. Had 9 rbi. That gave him 52 in 27 games and I imagine gave him the state POY over Dalton because they always seem to give it to someone from the championship team.
High school is over. We immediately drove to Jamestown, NY to begin summer ball.
Dalton's final stats for the year:
52.2 ip
0.80 era
121 K's
31 Bb's
6 hits allowed
.030 batting average against