Vidalia falls to Winnsboro in final at-bat

Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 30, 2005

JONESVILLE, La. &045; Buckle up and hang on to the edge of your seat. This one was a wild, wild ride.

After winning one game against Winnsboro Saturday night at the Louisiana District 5 South sub-district coach-pitch tournament in order to force a decisive second game, Vidalia led 13-10 going into the final inning. But Winnsboro, which had beaten Vidalia 9-0 earlier in the tournament, wasn’t done just yet.

The first five Winnsboro batters reached in the fifth &045; though one was tagged out between first and third, scoring Casey Richardson and pulling the team to within two. Aaron Monnin’s single scored Peyton Jones to make it a one-run game. A pop-up put Winnsboro in a tight spot, still trailing with two outs in the final inning.

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Enter Zach Wolleson, who had two strikes on him before he slapped a shot between the shortstop and second baseman that rolled almost all the way to the wall, allowing Devin Glasspoole and Kyle Sullivan to score the tying and winning runs. Monnin could have scored as well on the play, but the game ended with Sullivan’s run with a 14-13 victory for Monterey.

&uot;I’ve still got a heartbeat,&uot; Winnsboro head coach Chris Sullivan said. &uot;These kids have so much heart. They don’t quit. Zach Wolleson, Aaron Monnin, Kyle Sullivan, Devin Glasspoole, the whole team all came through with hits in that final inning to get us this win. Zach could have just struck out there and it would have been over.&uot;

Vidalia head coach Whest Shirley said he was proud of the way his team played in the tournament.

&uot;I think we went further in the tournament than a lot of people thought we would,&uot; Shirley said. &uot;We were one out away here. I told our team they need to see them celebrating because that’s what we were going for.&uot;

The games climactic ending was all the more exciting since the first three innings passed without deciding a

single thing. After 18 outs worth of baseball, the score was 10-10 and neither Vidalia or Winnsboro showed any signs of giving in.

Evan Webber and Pate Shirley opened the fourth with consecutive singles, setting Dakota Hunt for a triple that scored them both. Hunt scored on Hunter Randall’s double to put Vidalia up 13-10.

&uot;Vidalia is a real good team,&uot; Sullivan said. &uot;They impressed me tonight. It was nip and tuck the whole way and I was churning inside but smiling on the outside. I’ll tell you this, you won’t see a better-played ballgame in northeast Louisiana tonight.&uot;

Vidalia started the game on fire. Shirley singled, Hunt doubled and Randall’s infield chopper loaded the bases for Cole Cupit, who doubled Shirley and Hunt in. Randall and Cupit scored on Hayden Nunnery’s single. Drew McGivaren reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually scored on another fielder’s choice, staking Vidalia to an early 5-0 lead.

But Winnsboro responded with a five-run inning of its own. Austyn Davis singled and went to third on Sam Skipper’s double. Richardson singled to load the bases before Peyton Jones tripled to score Davis and Skipper.

Glasspoole reached on a single and Kyle Sullivan knocked Richardson in with a single. Glasspoole scored when Chas Gravelle reached on a fielder’s choice and Sullivan scored on Wolleson’s single to tie the game.

Vidalia was at it again in the second. Christopher White singled and eventually scored on Shirley’s single. Hunt singled and both Shirley and Hunt scored on Hunter Randall’s double. After Cupit doubled, Randall scored on Hayden Nunnery’s single, making the score 9-5.

But again, Winnsboro came back strong. Ty Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice and moved over on Davis’ single. Skipper hit an inside-the-park home run to dead center, scoring three runs to bring his team within a run.

Vidalia added a run in the third when Austin Moore singled and eventually came in when Austin Tait reached on a fielder’s choice.

In both games Saturday, Vidalia hit the ball extremely well, racking up 40 hits combined.

&uot;If we’re hitting like that, we can play with anybody,&uot; Shirley said.

Vidalia 8, Winnsboro 3

In the night’s first game, Vidalia’s bats were as hot as Winnsboro’s were cold.

A five-run second inning was all Vidalia needed to get the victory, though the team added three insurance runs in the final two innings.

Vidalia had three hits in the first inning, but left the bases loaded without scoring a run.

Winnsboro opened the game’s scoring when Davis led off the first with a double and scored on Skipper’s single, giving his team an early 1-0 lead.

But Vidalia got things going offensively in the second. Moore singled, then scored on Chandler Grayson’s single. Later in the inning, White’s inside-the-park home run scored himself, Grayson and Tait. Tyler Cothern kept things going with a single and scored on Hunt’s hit to give Vidalia a 5-1 lead.

Vidalia added a run in the fourth when Grayson singled, moved to third on White’s double and scored on a double by Tyler Cothern to put Vidalia up 6-1. In the fifth, Vidalia’s Hunt singled and scored on Cupit’s double. Cupit eventually scored on McGivaren’s single.

Winnsboro finally started hitting in the fifth, with half the team’s hits coming in the inning. Richardson led off with a single and went to third on Jones’ double. Glasspoole knocked in Richardson with a single and Jones scored on Gravelle’s single, making the final 8-3.