DEACON JONES INVITATIONAL: Princeton upends NoJo in 10 innings

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 1, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Members of the 2016 Princeton baseball team, years from now, will probably gather at a class reunion and one player will undoubtedly ask, "do you remember the Easter tournament against North Johnston?"

Dude, who could forget.

It's an installment -- an edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline-pumping, knuckle-whitening affair -- of a bitter rivalry that deservingly needs preservation in a time capsule.

Expect Hunter Mitchell and Mason Rachels to narrate the last moments.

Mitchell stood at third base and watched Rachels draw a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the 10th inning. The pitch bounced past North Johnston catcher Garrett Littleton and toward the backstop.

Rachels looked back toward the plate.

Mitchell took off from third and slid safely home, lifting the Bulldogs to a 5-4 victory in the Deacon Jones Invitational championship game.

"It was awesome ... very fun," Mitchell said. "It means everything being a senior, last Easter tournament, means the world for us to win ... especially beating North Johnston."

Princeton (9-3 overall) constantly wiggled out of trouble all evening. The pitching corps of Matt Daughtry, Tanner Flowers and Matt Boyette forced the Panthers to strand 10 men on base and hit a miserable 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Daughtry induced an inning-ending fielder's choice and a 4-6-3 double-play grounder in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Center fielder Seth Price got on his horse and caught a deep fly ball at the warning track, which left the bases loaded for NoJo in the eighth.

The Panthers didn't threaten again.

"We have really good pitching and our defense has been pretty solid," Rachels said. "We've just been playing really good baseball."

And this WAS a really good, unforgettable effort.

Deadlocked at 4-all through 91/2 innings, Mitchell got hit by Panthers reliever Steven Worley. Matt Boyette executed a sacrifice bunt down the first-base line and was thrown out at first.

Mitchell gambled.

"The third baseman came in charging (the bunt), the shortstop did not go back behind, so there was nobody to cover (third base)," Mitchell said.

PHS head coach Bruce Proctor never considered waving Mitchell around second toward third. But he smiled when the senior outfielder slid into third on the looping bunt.

"He did it all on his own," Proctor said. "I've got goose bumps just thinking about it now. That's the kind of stuff that players do to make coaches look smart that they have nothing to do with. You've got to give him (Mitchell) a lot of credit there."

The hair-raising moment hadn't happened -- yet.

After a strikeout, Alex Hickman drew a two-out walk to put runners on the corners for the second consecutive inning. Jarrett Pearce replaced him at first base.

Holden Hales replaced Worley on the bump.

Rachels dug into the batter's box.

"The only thing going through my head was putting the ball in play or drawing the walk ... do anything to help my team win the game," Rachels said. "I got lucky and he threw me four straight balls. You can't ask for anything more, I guess."

Especially when the fourth pitch sails wildly and allows a teammate to cross home for the game-winning run. The Bulldogs claimed their first Invitational crown since 2013 and -- unbelievably -- just their fourth overall since 2005.

"It's always crazy against North Johnston, always high tension, lot of emotion comes into this game especially with the Easter tournament and all of the seniors we have," said Rachels, who was one of four Bulldogs selected to the all-tournament team along with Daughtry (MVP), Tanner Flowers and Nick Phillips.

"I couldn't be happier with the group of guys I play with and the bond we all have together. It was a great tournament."

Princeton managed just six hits, but received extra opportunities on eight walks and three hit batsmen. North Johnston flexed its muscle with an Invitational-high 14 hits, including four of the extra-base variety, but couldn't piece together a back-breaking rally.

In all, the two teams combined to leave 21 runners aboard.

Except for Mitchell.

"I was feeling kind of pressured," Mitchell said about his final at-bat. "I had already been 0-for-4 this game, so I was just looking to get something in play."

Instead, he'll wear that pitch as a badge -- a reminder of the night that 10 seniors turned away a rival in vintage fashion.