RARDIN, SOUTH BULLPEN PREVAIL; GATORS PLAY HOST TO SPARTANS TONIGHT
This one had a little bit of everything.
Momentum swings. Drama. Intrigue. Sparkling defensive plays. And an occasional controversial call from the two-man umpire crew.
Ultimately, however, it was Griffin Rardin and the South Warren High School baseball team’s night.
Rardin, the Spartans’ sophomore shortstop/pitcher, negotiated plenty of extra-inning trouble on the mound and guided South Warren to a pulsating 6-5 victory over Greenwood High School on a chilly Monday night at South Warren Ballpark.
South Warren senior Dalton Sisson lined a pitch from Greenwood’s Nathan Howard into right-center field for an RBI single that finally settled it, sending the Spartans’ Jacob Gilbreath home with the winning run in KHSAA 14th District play.
“I hadn’t seen a fastball the whole game,” Sisson said. “But (Howard) came at me with the fastball, four or five times in a row, and I was sitting on that one … I hit it pretty good.”
South Warren improved to 14-6 overall and 2-1 in the 14th District. The Gators fell to 17-3 overall while losing for the first time in three district games. Greenwood will play host to the Spartans on Tuesday evening at Corey Hart Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Monday night’s game took more than four hours to complete, and the Gators twice scored single go-ahead runs in extra-innings before the Spartans squared things up in the bottom half.
“Both teams took some shots to the chin,” South coach Chris Gage said.
SOUTH WAS AGGRESSIVE
ON THE BASE PATHS.
AWAY FROM VICTORY IN THE 11TH.
Greenwood built a tenuous 3-1 lead until South center fielder Keegan Milby lined a two-run single to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning. Greenwood had the go-ahead run in scoring position in the top of the seventh, but Spartans reliever Jackson Joiner slipped back-to-back called third strikes past the Gators to retire the side.
Greenwood struck first in extra innings, of course, using a double to left-center field from outfielder Reed McClard and a passed ball to grab a 4-3 lead.
It would not last.
South third baseman Ethan Reynolds, sporting a batting average well over .400, drew a leadoff walk in the eighth from Gators reliever Zach Davis in the bottom of the eighth. Davis struck out the next two Spartan batters he faced, however, before Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers elected to put Tucker Bishop on base with an intentional walk.
CONFERS WITH SOUTH WARREN’s CHRIS GAGE.
LETS A CRITICAL BUNT TRICKLE INTO FOUL TERRITORY.
South Warren’s Ty Croghan then lined Davis’ pitch into left-field for a run-scoring single, and the game was tied at 4 heading into the ninth inning.
“It was pretty bleak, at times,” South coach Chris Gage said. “We had to come back, a lot. Had some great at bats. Some great plays from both teams.
“A couple times I thought this thing might go all night.”
Greenwood’s Axel Dysholm slapped a pitch from South reliever Griffin Rardin for a single inside the third-base line, and he would score on a wild pitch, putting the Gators in front 5-4 in the top of the 11th inning.
Croghan lined a single into left-center field for a leadoff single in the bottom of the 11th, but Greenwood reliever Easton Talley struck out the next two batters he faced, the Gators one out away from a critical 14th District victory.
Sisson kept things alive with a line-drive single to center field, which caught Gators sophomore Canon Jaggers out of position before skipping to the warning track, scoring Croghan from second base.
Rardin, the next batter in the South lineup, then ripped a sinking line drive into center field, but Canon Jaggers made a brilliant defensive play with a diving catch, retiring the side with the score tied at 5 heading into the 12th inning.
GOT A RARE CHANCE TO WATCH
HIS SON GRIFFIN PLAY FOR THE SPARTANS.
Neither squad did much on offense in the 12th, and Rardin, the son of first-year Western Kentucky head baseball coach Marc Rardin, retired the Gators in order in the top of the 13th inning.
Croghan, who finished the night 3-for-6 at the plate, came up with a leadoff single up the middle in the bottom of the 13th. After Andrew Milam’s sacrifice bunt and a fielder’s choice — and subsequent rundown — left the Spartans’ Jacob Gilbreath at second base, Dalton Sisson delivered the game-winning hit to right-center field, bringing South’s players off the bench and into shallow center field to celebrate the victory.
Griffin Rardin earned his first victory of the season, to go with two saves, to change the narrative for the night.
“It was a little rough, but I felt good after the first inning (on the mound),” Rardin said. “I’ve never played with a team like this.”
The marathon might leave Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers and South’s Chris Gage with some pitching limitations in Game Two, but the Spartans have the upper hand in the season until further notice.
“That’s baseball. That’s the way it went tonight,” Jaggers said. “Our guys played really hard. I thought the competed very well. (South Warren) just made one more play than we did.”
Game Two figures to bring plenty of intrigue Tuesday night. Stay tuned.
SHOT AT SOUTH ON TUESDAY NIGHT.
OVER THE GAME’s 13 INNINGS …
NEARLY WENT 4.5 HOURS …
