GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — “Last three innings, that’s when the games start here in Junction,” Eastern Oklahoma State baseball coach Dru Sebastian said Sunday evening.
His Mountaineers won the first six innings by four runs, but Johnson County Community College came alive in the final three of the first elimination game of the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series to claim a 14-13 victory.
In those last three frames, Eastern Oklahoma put up three runs. Johnson County scored seven.
The Mountaineers left it all out there. Being the No. 10 seed put them up against No. 1 Walters State on day one, where they lost in a gut-wrencher, 11-10. Then squaring off against No. 4 Johnson County, they again came up just one run short.
“Very few times in life do you get the opportunity to walk off the field, or walk out of a career or job, and have no regrets … that was my message to (the team), as much as this hurts, job well done,” said Sebastian.
In the other dugout, the Cavaliers clawed back and snatched the win. As Suplizio Field turned into a pressure cooker, out walked freshman outfielder Ryker Edwards. Two runners on base, bottom of the seventh, down 11-8, Edwards drove a line drive screamer over the right field wall to tie the game at 11-11 and start the Cavs’ run to victory.
“I was trying to stay as composed as possible,” Edwards said. “There’s no reason for me to get emotional and worked up. I just need to stay level and stay calm, and if I do that, good things are going to happen, and they did.”
The Cavaliers took the lead in the eighth when Mikan Miller scored on a throwing error on Boston Bruce's sacrifice bunt and added on two crucial runs on a two-run single to center by Edwards. That hit proved to be the difference when Eastern Oklahoma (31-27, 0-2 JUCO) scored twice in the ninth and had two on with two out. Jackson Downing, who held on for the save, got Luke Graham to pop out to third to earn the Cavaliers another day in Colorado.
Johnson County coach Eric Horner said the win wasn’t pretty, but his guys never gave up. The Cavs (52-12, 1-1 JUCO) had to fight from behind, and although they did, it isn’t ideal. From the mound, freshman right-hander Christian Bobzin got the win, throwing one inning, allowing one hit, no walks, and striking out one batter. Although the team did struggle a bit from the mound, Horner said it was better than Saturday. Heading into Monday's 1 p.m. elimination game against either the returning champ, No. 2 Blinn, or No. 3 Florida SouthWestern.