"Before the game, we had a list of four goals. Number four was 'dog pile'," coach Tom Fish said. "I'd never been a part of one. I always wondered how they worked. Our guys did an awesome one. It's something they'll never forget."
It was an improbable ending for Solanco, which had to come back from a 6-0 deficit in its final regular season league game just to qualify for the tournament. The Mules entered the Monday, May 16, first round game as underdogs against Lancaster Catholic's ace pitcher Dillon Marsh. Fish was confident. "I knew we had as good a team," he said. "They have an ace pitcher and he was as good as advertised. It was going to be tough to score against them but we have a pretty darn good pitcher, too." Fish was referring to senior righty Brady Thomas, who ended the year with an ERA of 0.96. Thomas matched Marsh pitch for pitch. "Our guys are used to being in tight ballgames and that was evident," Fish said. The Mules finally broke through in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Tony Osborne. Solanco was one strike away from victory before Catholic tied it when a Mule could not grab a fly ball to left-center. Solanco took a 3-1 lead in the 10th, highlighted by an RBI double by catcher Bailey Keys. Colin Ewaka beat out an infield hit up the middle to plate another run. Ewaka, who pitched the last three innings, allowed a leadoff double in bottom of the 10th and that run came around to score on a one-out sacrifice fly, but he got the final out on a comebacker. Despite having pitched the night before, Ewaka asked for the ball in the semifinals and authored a 3-0 victory over ELCO. "I don't know if he had his best stuff, but that's what was so remarkable," Fish said. "Nobody barrels him up." Solanco scored the game's only runs in the fourth with the big blow, an RBI double by Thomas. ELCO threatened in the fifth with runners on first and second and nobody out. But Keys picked a runner of second base and Ewaka induced a double play. "Their rally was over in two pitches," said Fish. While Penn Manor had Wednesday off, Solanco played its final regular season game. With a chance to qualify for the district tournament, the Mules had scheduled a game at West York. "We thought it was worth giving it a shot," said Fish. "I calculated the numbers [the morning of the game] but I couldn't tell if we'd get into districts even with a win. The coaching staff decided we wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize our chances in the championship game. You don't get the chance to play in a championship game that often." The Mules were eliminated from district contention by a 12-11 loss. Freshman Hayden Fox got the start and was staked to a 5-0 lead before he took the mound. As West York mounted a comeback, Fox was pulled after three innings so he would be available the next day. West York led 12-8 entering the seventh inning. Solanco tallied three times but could not tie it. "We kicked up a little fuss in the seventh, but we knew Thursday would be our last game," said Fish. The Mules pounded out a season-high 16 hits – four from Derek Lavin, three by Thomas, and two from Joe Murray. Dawson Goté got the start in the title game but ran into trouble in the third. Penn Manor tallied twice to take a 2-1 lead without the benefit of a hit. With the bases loaded and a 2-0 count on the hitter, Fish called on Fox. "I told him it's just another game," said Fish. "Have some fun. Get warmed up on the first batter and then roll me a double play." It almost happened as Fish drew it up. Fox wound up walking the first hitter he faced (the walk charged to Goté) and then got a ground ball. But the Mules bobbled it and only got one out, allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate. "The situation could've been ugly," Fish said. Fox went on to pitch 8-2/3 innings and allowed five hits and one walk while fanning three. "He was unbelievable," Fish said. Solanco tied the game in the fifth. Thomas doubled to deep left and scored on a Lavin single. There were only two 1-2-3 innings the entire game. The Mules played good defense to prevent Penn Manor from taking a lead. Worthington made a big play at shortstop and the third baseman Lavin made a couple of nice plays. Freshman outfielder Joel McGuire made a good grab. Having reached his innings limit, Fox had to come out after the 11th and Murray came on. Battling a hand injury, Murray hit two batters with curve balls but wriggled out of the jam. McGuire led off the home half of the 12th with a sharp single to center. The next batter was unable to lay down a bunt and could not advance the runner. Worthington hit a grounder for a force at second but beat the relay throw to first. Fish, who coaches first base, had a simple message for Worthington. "I told him I needed him on second base right now," the coach said. Worthington went on the pitcher's first move. The pitcher threw to first, but Worthington was able to beat the first baseman's one-hop throw to second. "We knew if we went on first move the pitcher might throw over, but we thought it was a gamble worth taking," said Fish. Thomas was due up and Fish suspected the Comets might intentionally walk him with first base open, which is what happened. That brought Lavin to the plate. Lavin hit a little dribbler up the third base line. Penn Manor's catcher picked it up and fired to first. The ball bounced in front of the first baseman and he could not field it cleanly. "As soon as I saw the ball, I knew it was going to be trouble," said Fish. "Mike is such an aggressive baserunner and I knew (third base coach) Dave (Thomas) was going to wave him home." Worthington never broke stride around third and slid home ahead of the first baseman's throw to the plate to score the championship-winning run. "I was pretty excited," Fish said. "I felt pretty strongly [the title] was going to happen. It was strange being in Ephrata's home dugout and playing Penn Manor where I played and coached and against a coach (Jim Zander) I played for and love. I felt like it was going to happen." It is the second Lancaster-Lebanon League title in school history. Solanco won league and district titles in 2007. "The cool thing is everybody on the team contributed to help us get to this point," said Fish. "Trent Myers scored our first run [in the championship game] on a wild pitch. Tony Osborne had a big hit [against Lancaster Catholic]. Bailey Keys caught 36 innings during the week. I've never been around a catcher who never has a lapse. He never makes a mistake. He's one of our best hitters but it's his defense that really makes him special." The Mules finish the season with a record of 13-10. Fish grew fond of this team and now it will always be remembered on a banner in the gym. "It's emotional," said Fish. "I really do love these guys. This is why I coach and I take it that responsibility very seriously. I enjoyed my high school career and I wanted these guys to have the same experience. The kids really played hard. The day after the game every kid texted me with something personal about their experiences. I can't even tell you what that means to me." Comments are closed.
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