It’s never going to be easy when you’re battling more than what is happening on the field.
The Reeltown baseball team made the trek to Pike Liberal Arts for its first appearance in the AHSAA Class 2A baseball semifinals, with the Rebels dropping the series.
In Game 1, it seemed almost grim. The Rebels were in an eight-run deficit heading into the sixth inning. However, things on the offensive side of the ball clicked, resulting in eight runs scored to not only tie the game up, but carry the momentum into extra innings thanks to runs scored by almost the entirety of the lineup.
Even with the momentum in Reeltown’s favor, Game 1 of the series ended in a 12-11 due to a controversial call at home plate after Pike Liberal attempted to steal home base.
“We did really well in the first game,” Reeltown head coach Matt Johnson said. “We stuck with the plan. When they had to go to the bullpen, our guys rallied and made a huge comeback. Questionable call right there at the end of the first game, we didn't catch any breaks. No breaks (Wednesday) within the game, but proud of our kids for fighting back there.”
Things descended even more into chaos in Game 2 of the series. Despite the constant blowing of air horns from the crowd, Reeltown’s trend of being unable to catch a break continued. Both pitchers, Hagan Lewis and Brody Smith, found themselves in a predicament trying to fight the crowd involvement, which resulted in 10 combined walks, resulting in a 10-4 loss for the Rebels.
Offensively, Reeltown showed its prowess at the plate and made solid contact throughout the game. However, anytime Reeltown made contact, it just seemed to land right where a Pike Liberal fielder was.
“(At the) end of the last game, we squared two balls up solid, just right at people,” Johnson said. “And that was just kind of the breaks we didn't get today. We hit a lot of really hard balls into gloves. But to make that come back, in an atmosphere like that, I was really proud of how they played.”
Even with battling through adversity the whole series, Reeltown can still hang its head high. This was the school’s first appearance in the semifinals, with much of the talent on this year's roster returning next season. Johnson knows that the final score was not an indication of how well his team played.
“I think, in a day or two, when you have time to reflect, that will be something that they can really be proud of,” Johnson said. “(In Game 1) in the seventh inning; play at the plate our guy was called out and in extra innings their guy was called safe. And that was a difference in the game. If we're called safe there, we don't even go to extra innings. So just knowing that you're one run away from a really, really high chance playing for a state championship that hurts.”
Reeltown ends the season with a 20-14 record, going undefeated in area play en route to its fifth area title.