Golden Hawks come back, walk off to substate

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 7/18/21

It wasn’t the start that Mid-Prairie wanted, but the finish was perfect. 

Williamsburg led by a run entering the bottom of the seventh inning in Saturday’s district final, but the …

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Golden Hawks come back, walk off to substate

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It wasn’t the start that Mid-Prairie wanted, but the finish was perfect. 

Williamsburg led by a run entering the bottom of the seventh inning in Saturday’s district final, but the Raiders were unable to record a single out as Mid-Prairie had five straight hits to walk off with the 5-4 victory. 

“It definitely feels really good, just to know you’re moving on to the next game,” said Golden Hawk senior Aidan Rath, who drove in the tying run and scored the game winner in the seventh. 

It didn’t look great for Mid-Prairie when the Raiders took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. A ground ball made it past senior shortstop Keegan Gingerich, allowing two runs to score with two outs. 

But with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, it was time for redemption. 

Down to his last strike, Gingerich hit the ball into the outfield to bring home a run. The left fielder misplayed the ball and two more runs came home to tie the game at 3-3. 

“That was huge,” Gingerich said about getting the chance to hit with the bases loaded. “I was kind of looking curveball, but the fastball came in, I took the opportunity and it went through the hole.”

Mid-Prairie had just three hits through four innings, before scoring five runs on nine hits over the last three. 

“We came off kind of slow, but ended up finding the bats,” Gingerich said. “We just battled it out. We never quit.”

The Raiders regained the lead and the momentum in the sixth, as Trey O’Neill hit a one-out triple and scored on an error. 

In the seventh inning, freshman Karson Grout quickly took the pressure off of Mid-Prairie with a leadoff double. He took third base on a passed ball and scored on Rath’s single into right field. 

“Big time players show up to the show and produce, that's what it's about,” Mid-Prairie coach Kyle Mullet said. “And that says a lot about their character and their mindset in the box, as a team. It just carries over, you know. Hitting is a contagious thing. And just when one guy gets going, then the rest just kind of follow.”

Gingerich’s single and Vinnie Bowlin’s bunt single loaded the bases for sophomore Collin Miller, who delivered the walk-off hit. 

Bowlin finished 3 for 4 at the plate and Will Cavanagh was 2 for 3. 

“Tip of the hat to our guys for battling,” Mullet said. “I've never had to worry about that with this group. (Before the last inning) they came together as a team, and they're ready to go. It's just unbelievable how they battle and stay with it.”

Grout made the start, but was a little wild in the first two innings. He allowed just one hit, but walked two and hit a batter. 

Sophomore Alex Bean came in and walked the first batter he saw to load the bases with one out. He followed with a huge strikeout and stranded all three runners. 

He allowed two unearned runs on three hits and three walks in 3 and 2-3 innings of relief.

“We feel like Grout is our second best arm, but he came out and struggled,” Mullet said. “This time of year it’s a little different. You don't have other games you’ve got to worry about you play it game by game. And the next guy in line is Alex Bean. Alex came in and did a tremendous job.”

Miller pitched the final two innings and gave up just two hits and an unearned run. 

The No. 4 Golden Hawks  (19-7) will face Davis County (14-18) in the substate final on Tuesday, July 20 in Washington, with the winner moving on to the state tournament in Carroll.