The OVS baseball squad pulled off a gritty, come-from-behind, extra inning Omega League victory Thursday over first-place Beacon Hill, and the Spuds now control their destiny when it comes to finishing the season as league champions.
If OVS wins its final league game next Wednesday against Hillcrest Christian, the Spuds will be crowned league champions. OVS defeated Hillcrest 20-2 in a mid-April matchup.
Every player on the short-handed OVS squad contributed to Thursday’s 13-12 win.
The Spuds dug out of several multi-run deficits to tie the game 11-11 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Beacon scored once at the top of the eighth inning to nudge ahead 12-11. On the ropes and down to their final out, OVS scored twice in the bottom of the eighth, including the go-ahead run by junior Cole Huey on a passed ball.
“They played with no fear,” OVS head coach Hank Pankratz said. “Guys were playing in new positions and they had to step up to get the job done. Going down easy was not an option for this gritty Spud group.”
OVS was led by junior Renji Hanai, who drove in six runs on four hits. Renji singled in the seventh inning to score three, tripled in the fourth scoring two and singled in the sixth scoring one. He was also the starting pitcher for the Spuds, going four strong innings before hurting his knee in the bottom of the fourth inning while scoring a run himself.
Sophomore Zayd Davis stepped in to throw four solid innings to pick up the win.
Cole Huey and sophomore Luca Winkel made several game-saving defensive plays in the outfield, and the players were more animated than they have been all season, boisterously cheering each other on with every swing and pitch.
The team swarmed Cole at home plate when he slid in for the winning run. The players hugged and high-fived, and several had tears running down their faces, demonstrating the heightened emotions that had been evident throughout the game.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” coach Pankratz said. “They worked their tails off for the last 2 1/2 months for it all to be worth that one game.”
OVS is scheduled to host Hillcrest Christian on Wednesday, May 6, at 4 p.m. at Dok Smith Field.