By T. Scott Boatright
Ruston High School baseball coach Bryan Beck had one mission Saturday afternoon — find a way — any kind of way — to win game two of the Bearcats’ Division I Nonselect School playoff series and keep Hahnville from pushing it to a third and deciding game.
And he was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.
Beck did just that as he broke into this bag of tricks and unconventional thinking to help his Bearcats overcome adversity more than once and rally for a 7-6 win over the Tigers in eight innings to advance to the second round of the playoffs in a series to be played next week at Benton High School.
Talking about the roller coaster of a contest minutes after it ended, Beck could barely choke back his emotions as he faced the media.
“They’re a tough, tough group of kids,” Beck said. “I coach them really hard. (What you saw today) is why I coach them hard. They’ve been through a lot of offseason stuff no one knows about. Their day before a game practices have been as intense as the ones three days before a game. They have responded to each other, learning how to play for each other when something goes wrong, instead of focusing on the individual that made the mistake, or the individual coming off a bat that didn’t go well.
“We have a group of kids that are picking those guys up. It’s just special and fun to watch because I don’t play the game. Coaches don’t play. I think they don’t get rattled because we practice so hard.”
Momentum started out in Ruston’s favor as the Bearcats — who batted first as the “visitors” in Game 2 of the series — plated a pair of runs for an early 2-0 advantage.
After the first two Bearcat batters failed to reach first base, Jake Simmons walked and Nolan Parnell singled, J.P. Moak doubled both in, beginning what would be a big contest of his own in only his second game back on the field after returning from injury.
But “Old Mo’ jumped over to the Tigers’ dugout in the bottom of the fourth inning as Hanhville took a 3-2 lead after pitcher Koa Romero led off the stanza with a solo home run followed by a pair of HHS singles and a RHS throwing error.
Ruston regained momentum — and the lead — in the top of the fifth inning, scoring a pair of runs with one coming off a Jackson Lee sacrifice fly and the other off a single by Simmons to move back in front 4-3.
Romero and the Tigers pulled momentum back on their side as he blasted a second straight solo dinger in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie things at 4-4, and Hahnville moved on top 5-4 with another solo homer in the bottom of the sixth.
Moving into the top of the seventh, Beck broke even deeper into his bag of tricks.
With the game then tied at 5-5, Beck sent starting shortstop Peyton Martin to the plate to attempt to bunt Lee home.
But after he didn’t like what he saw after the first Hahnville pitch to Martin, Beck subbed in Burroughs to bat for Martin.
And then, after not liking what he saw on Burroughs’ attempted bunt, Beck reentered Martin to the plate for the at bat.
Martin hit a groundout that advanced Martin to third, who then scored on Simmons’ second RBI-single of the contest to put Ruston on top 6-5 before a flyout ended the top half of the inning.
“We were moving guys in and out, doing whatever it took to not play Game 3,” Beck said of the thought process behind his coaching moves. “I don’t think I had ever subbed inside of an at bat before. Peyton — he’s struggled bunting lately and looked tentative, so I brought in the best bunter on the team, Burroughs, and he got jammed on a fast ball that’s really hard to push bunt, and we were going to see J Lee from second to home right there. That was the play that was one, so we reentered Peyton because he’s faster, trying to put the ball into play with two strikes.”
Eli Crawford, who had replaced Ruston starting pitcher Tyler Roach gave way in the bottom of the sixth inning, gave up a walk to start the bottom of the seventh before being replaced on the mound by Carter Love, who had started the game in left field.
Love gave up one hit before Romero hit a sacrifice fly to tie things up again, this time at 6-6, and push the contest into extra innings.
Hahnville had a chance to win the contest with its last at bat in the bottom of the seventh, as it looked the Tigers could score on a blooper that looked like it would go over Martin’s head and fall into shallow left field.
But running backwards, Martin reached up, stretched out and made a running, diving catch to end the inning and Hahnville’s chance at a walkoff win.
“I told them it wasn’t going to go like it did (Friday) night (when RHS won 13-3),” Beck said. “I mean the law of averages. If we do 10-run rule them again, great. But that doesn’t happen much in baseball. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. Romero (Hahnville’s starting pitcher who hit back-to-back home runs for the Tigers) —what can you say about him? He’s a dog on the mound and a dog at the plate.
“We tried to pitch around him with a base open there at the end and he still hooks a line drive there to a freshman who came in late in the game — Daylin Powell — and makes a good play. When I tell you this was an all-around team win — a program win — that’s what this is.”
Then Moak, who had doubled in Ruston’s first two runs, blasted a solo home run — Ruston’s first out-of-the-park hit of the season — over the fence to put the Bearcats up 7-6 in the top of the eighth.
That resulted in a long controversy as Moak was ejected for a bat flip on his way to first while rounding the bases.
But after a delay for the umpires to talk with each other and both coaches, it was determined the run still counted.
“Honestly, as quick as it left the bat I kind of knew it was going out,” Moak said. “I’m just happy for the team. I’m excited we get to go play Benton in Round 2 and go over there and show them what we got.”
This from a young man who a couple of weeks ago didn’t know if he would play another game this season.
“It’s been an interesting process,” Moak said. “It’s been fun because my teammates have been really supportive of me and have really helped me through it. And I did it for them. It was all of them.”
The next three Ruston batters were put out, sending the game into the bottom of the eighth.
And Love took care of business on the mound from there, retiring all three batters he faced in the inning to earn the win and send the Bearcats to the second round of the playoffs.
“Peyton’s catch. Moak’s home run. You go in and find some at bats and find some plays and some big-time punchouts — you stack all of those up and it’s just an accumulation of things that gets you to win the game,” Beck said. “It’s the ones you see at the end that are most remembered, and Peyton’s catch and Moak’s home run were the difference makers.”
