Three outs. That’s all the Coffee Trojans needed in order to shock 5A on Friday night. In some ways, though, you could argue that they already had. The Houston County Bears came to Douglas 10-0 in region play, ranked #3 in the state, and #1 in Region 2-5A. They had soundly defeated the Trojans Tuesday night in Warner Robins in the most unceremonious of ways – via 10-run mercy rule in the fifth inning.
And yet the Trojans, sitting at #3 in the region, had upset the Bears 4-3 in game one of a scheduled doubleheader. Coffee had handed Houston its first region loss of the season. And here the Trojans were, leading 6-4 after six innings in game two.
Just one more scoreless inning.
It didn’t happen. The wheels came off in the top of the seventh. Coffee fought back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game again. Then, in extra innings, the Bears delivered the coup de grace.
But before we get to that, let’s talk about happier times.
In game one, as he has done all season long, pitcher Michael Strickland stepped up on the biggest stage and willed the Trojans to victory. He threw a 94-pitch complete game two-hitter in which he gave up three earned runs, struck out eight, and walked four. He braved the vaunted Houston County lineup three times and came out unscathed – something no other pitcher in the region has been able to do.
The Bears started off the game with two in the first but didn’t cross the plate again until the seventh. The five innings in between were filled with zeroes.
The Trojans, meanwhile, amassed eight hits. They scored two in the first, one in the third, and a final run in the sixth that proved to be the game-winner. With one out, Taven Harden and Ben Fussell walked. After a lineout put the second out on the board for Coffee, Strickland walked to load the bases. Connor Stewart followed with a walk on four straight pitches to score Harden to increase the Trojans’ lead to 4-2.
Against an opponent like Houston, any run is an important run. But nobody knew just significant that fourth run would be.
In the top of the seventh, Logan Elble led off with a solo home run to cut the lead to 4-3. Strickland settled down and retired the next two Bears. Will Allen walked, putting the tying run at first. Raymond Byrd stepped in the box for Houston. He worked the count to 2-2 then hit what should have been a routine fly ball to center field to end the game. Brax Carson, however, lost the ball in the sun and it bounced harmlessly off his glove. It looked like an abject disaster. To his credit, Carson didn’t hesitate. He picked up the ball and fired a strike to Harden at third. A pinch runner was in for Allen; he rounded third and went too far. As he tried to scramble back to the bag, Harden applied the tag for the final out of the game.
The Bears were undefeated no more.
Harden and Ben Fussell each had two hits for the Trojans. Harden also scored twice. Stewart and Eli Wood scored Coffee’s other two runs.
In game two, the Trojans struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the second when Barrett Harrell, who led off the inning with a walk and had moved to third on a wild pitch, scored on a ground out by Carson. Houston answered in the third with a run to tie the game. Coffee scored two in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Bears added another run in the top of the fourth to get within one.
Then the Trojans had their best inning of the game. In the bottom of the fourth, Gavin McElroy walked with one out. Reid Harden and Fussell followed with walks to load the bases. A strikeout gave Coffee two outs and left the bases full of Trojans. With Strickland at the plate, McElroy scored on a wild pitch. Reid Harden went to third and Fussell moved to second. On a 2-2 pitch, Strickland doubled to left to score Reid Harden and Fussell. The Trojans had built a 6-2 lead that felt like it may last.
But the Bears weren’t ready to quit. You don’t go undefeated in the region by giving up. Vick Gann and Isaiah Galason led off the top of the fifth with back-to-back home runs to cut Coffee’s lead to 6-4.
The top of the seventh is when the Trojans’ proverbial wheels came off. Fussell had started and gone six innings. While he had kept the Bears at bay, he had also thrown 101 pitches and put his team in position to win. His day was done and McElroy came in to close out the game.
Galason led off the inning with a walk. After a foul out, Ethan Buffone doubled to put runners at second and third. Ethan Kenney then took a 1-2 offering and turned it into a double to right, scoring Galason and Buffone to tie the game at six. After two walks (one of which was intentional), a Noah Odom sacrifice fly scored Kenney to give Houston a 7-6 lead. Afterwards, McElroy was able to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Now the Trojans had to come from behind to keep their hopes of a sweep alive.
Enter Strickland. Again.
He didn’t waste the opportunity. He connected on a 1-1 pitch and homered to left to start off the seventh. Just like that, with one swing of the bat, Coffee was back in the game. Unfortunately, the Trojans weren’t able to score the rest of the inning. But they were still alive, tied 7-7.
Weston Brown took the mound for Coffee in the extra frame. Houston was unfazed – both by the pitching change and the magnitude of the moment. Gann led off with a double then Galason walked. Elble bunted and moved the runners into scoring position. With Buffone at the plate, Gann scored on a wild pitch. Then Buffone reached on a dropped third strike that moved Galason to third. Kenney’s turn was next. During his at-bat, both Galason and Buffone scored on separate wild pitches to give the Bears a 10-7 lead.
The Trojans went into the bottom of the eighth needing another round of heroics to survive. After a strikeout, Brody Hare, who was in for Brown, reached base on an error. Another strikeout put the Trojans’ backs to the wall with two outs.
But they weren’t done yet.
Fussell singled. Jimmy Timothy followed by reaching on another Houston County error. The Trojans found themselves with the bases loaded, two outs, and Strickland at the plate. He had already done it three times in the previous 14 innings – once on the mound and twice at the plate. Could he do it again? In the 15th inning of the night, the Bears finally had the antidote. On a 0-1 pitch, Buffone managed to coerce a fly out to right for the final out of the game. The Bears had fought back and salvaged the series with a 10-7 extra-innings win.
But they weren’t leaving Charles Wilson Field unscathed. The Trojans had done what no other region team (and only three other non-region teams) had done all year long – beat the Bears.
Fussell and Strickland had two hits each. Strickland also drove in three while Fussell scored twice and pitched well enough to win the game. He went six innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He struck out 10 and walked three. McElroy and Brown each pitched an inning in relief.
The Trojans are 10-10 on the season and 7-5 in region play. There is only one region series left – a three-game set against Veterans that begins on Tuesday, April 8. Game one is set for 6 p.m. in Douglas. Games two and three will take place on Friday, April 11, at Veterans. In the meantime, the Trojans will play four non-region games next week at a neutral site. After the Veterans series, Coffee will close out the season with non-region games against Pierce County and Crisp County.