By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – For almost six innings, Sacred Heart did almost nothing good in its Region 8-1A opener against Salem.
But high school baseball is a seven-inning contest, and pitchers are limited to 120 pitches in a game.
As a result, the Crusaders were able to mount a successful rally, overcoming a four-run deficit, including a decisive three-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh, to defeat the Wildcats 6-5 Tuesday night at Larry Mixon Field.
Sacred Heart improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the region; Salem dropped to 2-7 and 0-1. The two teams will complete the two-game series on Thursday at Salem.
“An ugly win is a lot better than a pretty loss,” said Crusader head coach Larry Watkins. “We’ll take the win, but we know we’ve got to play better.
“Their pitcher did a good job, but it came down to him running out of pitches late, and that’s what I told the kids, that having good at-bats and making him throw extra pitches paid off toward the end.”
And for six innings, it was pretty ugly for the Crusaders, largely due to the efforts of Wildcat junior starter Logan Rayborn. A lanky left-hander, Rayborn kept Sacred Heart off-balance into the sixth inning with a live fastball and a wicked slider.
“He was killing us with the slider,” said junior Kyron Murphy. “We went from seeing a lot of slow pitching to a guy who was mid-to-upper 80s, and he did a good job on us. He worked the slider and change-up in really well. We were getting on it, but hitting it straight to people.”
Rayborn did not allow a hit through 5 1/3 innings of work, and struck out seven batters. But he walked eight, and that proved to be a huge factor in the outcome.
The Crusaders didn’t help themselves when they had opportunities, leaving the bases loaded in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
And they also didn’t help themselves in the field either, committing four errors that gave Salem all five of its runs.
“We were struggling on defense, mainly,” said junior Gabriel Pipkins. “Then the left-hander was pretty good. We had trouble with him. I don’t think we were used to that kind of speed.”
Both teams got a runner to third base in the first inning. Sacred Heart freshman starter Brayon Graham started a double play after allowing a hit batter and a single to the Wildcats’ first two hitters, then got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Crusaders got a one-out walk, a wild pitch and an error to get a runner to third in the bottom of the first, but Rayborn got a groundout to end the threat.
Salem took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, helped by a pair of errors, but the Wildcats should have had more, running themselves out of one run and the potential for another.
Sacred Heart tied it up in the bottom of the third, when Murphy drew a one-out walk, took second on a balk, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.
The Crusaders subsequently loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter, but Rayborn got out of trouble with a groundout to end the inning.
The Wildcats quickly regained their advantage in the top of the fourth. Senior Mason McCallum poked a leadoff single to rightfield, reached second on a hit batter, took third on a wild pitch and scored on an error.
And after two tours through the Salem batting order and two out in the inning, Watkins sent for another freshman, Jameson Phillips, in relief.
“Braylon is still learning,” said Watkins. “We got him out in the fourth inning, because he was tiring. He’s young and he’s still building up his stamina. He dropped down a good bit in his velocity in that fourth inning.”
Phillips walked the first batter he faced but got a groundout to leave the bases loaded.
In the fifth, however, a defensive lapse opened the gates for Salem to score three times, all with two out.
Phillips got two quick outs on ground balls to third, but McCallum dribbles a slow roller that got past the pitcher’s mound and beat out the throw from second.
A dropped popup in the infield kept the inning alive, and Wildcat junior Levi Turnage smoked an 0-2 fastball into the gap in right-centerfield for a two-run double. A passed ball and a wild pitch allowed Turnage to score, making it 5-1.
“I thought Phillips did a good job,” said Watkins. “He settled down and kept us in it. If we play better defense, then they don’t have a big inning. But you’ve got to make those plays. We’re young, and it’s just continuing to learn how to win.”
Rayborn’s control problems in the sixth opened the door for the Crusaders’ comeback. Sitting at 96 pitches heading into the bottom of the inning, Rayborn’s first pitch hit Sacred Heart freshman Colton Garner.
Senior Jack Hasselbring followed with a walk, then was forced at second base, with Garner reaching third. Back-to-back walks on 3-2 pitches got Garner home and ended Rayborn’s night at the 120-pitch limit.
Junior Braylon Gray came on to pitch for Salem, and he too allowed a bases-loaded walk to narrow the margin to 5-3.
Sacred Heart’s winning rally in the seventh started the same way as the sixth, with a hit batter on the first pitch of the inning. Garner followed with the Crusaders’ first hit of the game, a sharp single to left, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch.
Gray got a strikeout, but went to a 2-1 count on Murphy, and that brought Salem coach Kirk Bobb out for a pitching change. But freshman right-hander Keaton Roberts couldn’t get an out
Murphy hit Roberts’ first pitch for a bloop single to drive in a run, sophomore Levi Green smacked a 1-2 pitch into rightfield to drive in Garner with the tying run and Pipkins hit a 3-1 pitch just inside the bag at third base for the winning RBI.
“We hadn’t seen many left-handers,” said Murphy. “But we knew if we could get into their bullpen, that was the only lefty they had. We liked what we saw in that seventh inning, and we pulled it out.
“I think they knew I was getting on (Gray). He was upper 70s and I was seeing him really good, so I felt like I could hit his fastball. So, I guess they wanted to bring somebody else who was a little slower, maybe put me off my timing.”
Although the Crusaders were happy enough with the dramatic win, they knew they didn’t play their best.
“I was looking for a fastball down the middle, and he just caught me inside,” said Pipkins. “I just pulled it down the line, the third baseman missed it and he couldn’t do anything about it. We got lucky.
“I would take this game as a lesson, and practice a little harder, getting back in the cage and working on our hitting.”
PREP BASEBALL LINESCORE
Tuesday at Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart 6, Salem 5
Salem 010 130 0 – 5 6 3
SH 001 002 3 – 6 4 4
SALEM (2-7, 0-1 in 8-1A): Talen Boyd 1B; Logan Rayborn 1B; Mason McCallum 2 1B; Levi Turnage 2B; Jace Rushing 1B. LP – Braylon Gray. Also pitching – Logan Rayborn (starter), (7 Ks); Keaton Roberts.
SACRED HEART (7-4, 1-0 in 8-1A): Kyron Murphy 1B; Levi Green 1B; Gabriel Pipkins 1B; Colton Garner 1B. WP – Jameson Phillips. Also pitching – Brayon Graham (starter).
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
