Bizarre play favors Spring Creek in 4th inning

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 29, 2016 1:49 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Dark ominous clouds, illuminated by lightning from time to time, slowly crept across "The Swamp" on Thursday afternoon.

Despite the gloomy conditions, the baseball Gods shined brightly on Spring Creek -- a mere two days after a not-so-memorable outing against league rival Princeton.

All the Gators needed was one bizarre play.

The head-scratching scene was enough to propel Spring Creek past Rosewood, 4-2, and give the Gators a share of their second consecutive Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season championship.

"I don't know what to say," SC head coach Heath Whitfield said.

Indeed.

Down 2-1 through 31/2 innings, the Gators' Josh Lebron launched a solo home run -- his first of the season -- over the left-field fence. Rosewood's Ethan Chapin, at first, chased the rocket-like shot that cleared the wall with a good 30 feet to spare.

"That was huge...great at-bat," Whitfield said.

Spring Creek wasn't done. Landon Smothers smacked a ground-rule double to the same spot and scored the go-ahead run on Hunter Walker's sacrifice squeeze bunt.

Whitfield experienced deja vu on the next play.

With one out and two strikes, Levi Miller swung a pitch in the dirt. Rosewood catcher Derek Neal thought he had fielded the ball cleanly to record the strikeout.

The umpire called Miller safe.

SC's coaches shouted for Miller to run and Anthony Rogers -- a courtesy runner for Whitfield -- eventually scored to extend the Gators' lead to 4-2.

"I haven't seen that play happen in years and then to see it happen back-to-back like that is crazy," said Whitfield, whose team failed to play the third-pitch strikeout which enabled Princeton to open the offensive floodgates on Tuesday evening.

"You're liable to see anything in baseball for sure. I'm glad it went our way this time."

Consider it a learning lesson for Rosewood.

"It's an odd play," Eagles coach Jason King said. "Our catcher thought he caught it clean. It's not a lack of effort. One person is thinking one thing and one person is thinking another. We probably need to throw it from now on to be safe."

SC hurlers Sawyer Smith and Will Rouse kept Rosewood quiet after it seized a 2-1 lead in the third inning on Chapin's RBI single. Smith retired six of the final nine batters he faced before Rouse took over in the sixth. The right-hander allowed two base runners, but sat down the final four he faced -- including a 1-2-3 finish in the seventh.

The Eagles managed seven hits and batted a paltry 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. King said his team squared up several balls that were either right at a defender or backside.

"What Sawyer gave us for five innings was unbelievable. He did a great job," Whitfield said. "Will was hurting. He got hit with a line drive in the hip the other night against Princeton, and got hit today (on his right hand). He comes in there for two innings and shuts them down.

"You can't ask for any more out of your seniors than that."

Just thank the baseball Gods, coach.