Monterey claws back to beat Block, 11-10

Published 12:00 am Friday, March 3, 2017

For Monterey High School, it’s not over until Cameron King swings.

King drove in the winning run on the final play to give the Wolves an 11-10 comeback victory over Block Thursday night in the Monterey baseball tournament.

“The kids didn’t give up,” Monterey coach Eric Richard said. “We stayed with it and just found a way to win.”

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The Wolves came into the seventh inning down one run, 10-9, and finished strong at the plate to secure the win. Everett Harper scored off of a triple from Cooper Roach, and King followed with the walk-off single for Roach to score.

“(King and Roach) are our two best hitters,” Richard said. “I told them to just be ready for their moment, and both of them came through. Anytime you can come back, it does nothing but give you confidence.”

Phipps pitched 3.2 innings in the loss and gave ups four hits, seven runs and five walks. He also recorded seven strikeouts.

Block coach Stevie McCarthy said with two of his pitchers injured, he had no choice but to rely on Phipps.

“That’s all I had,” McCarthy said. “I had to stay with him, and they caught up to him.”

Block hit the ball well to begin the game, racking up seven runs after the first two innings.

Phipps got things started for the Bears with a double, and Noah Odom, Brennan Lipman and KJ O’Steen each hit a single in the first inning.

“I told the team what we scored in the first wasn’t going to be enough,” McCarthy said. “We didn’t stay focused.”

After matching Block’s four runs in the second, Monterey didn’t find home plate again until it exploded with five runs in the sixth.

Payton Hollard and Colton Willson each hit a double to aid the late effort.

Alex Humphries led Monterey’s offense with three RBIs and two runs in the win.

“We ended up pretty strong,” King said. “We are getting better every game.”

Matthew Womack got the win for Monterey after pitching 1.2 innings and striking out one.

Monterey (2-0) will play again at 4 p.m. today against St. Joseph, and Block (1-2) will face Harrisonburg at 11:45 a.m. Saturday in Monterey’s tournament.