Wolf freshman Ty Eck scored the game’s 25th and final run Wednesday. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)
Senior catcher Cole Payne knocked in five runs, including the game winner, and was a rock for his young pitchers.
This one got wild.
If you left midway through Wednesday’s non-conference baseball game between Concrete and Coupeville, you’re going to read most of this article and be like, “What the heck?!?!”
What started as a pitcher’s duel on the sun-drenched prairie turned into a slugger’s brawl in which the Wolves lost a seven-run lead in the final inning, but still came back to hand new coach Marc Aparicio his first win.
Riding a walk-off RBI single from senior catcher Cole Payne — his fifth RBI of the day — Coupeville escaped with a 13-12 victory that left the overflow crowd happy while evening the team’s record at 1-1.
Payne’s pinpoint hit, which sliced beautifully into center field and would have likely cleared the bases if more runs had been necessary, capped a topsy-turvy afternoon.
With freshman hurler Dane Lucero blanking Concrete over the first three innings, Coupeville built a narrow 2-0 lead and fans seemed to be in for a low-scoring affair.
The Wolves eked out a run in the first, off of two Lion errors and two walks, then tacked on a run in the third when Lucero scampered home on a passed ball.
Concrete scratched their way back into things, however, scoring three in the top of the fourth, two after what everyone originally thought was the third out.
An RBI double had sliced the lead to 2-1, but with runners at second and third and two outs, a Lion hitter topped the ball and was tossed out at first.
Only he wasn’t, as after both teams had left the field, the umps conferred and brought them back on, deciding the ball had never been fair in the first place.
Given a reprieve, Concrete promptly ripped a two-run double down the left field line to snatch the lead away.
Joey Lippo replaced Lucero on the mound to start the fifth, and with the ump calling a tight strike zone, walked home another run to let the Lions stretch their lead out to 4-2.
Then, in the snap of a finger, the Wolf offense suddenly became Murderers’ Row, drilling Concrete for five runs in the fifth, then another five in the sixth.
Coupeville sent 19 batters to the plate across the two innings, with Payne crunching a two-run single one inning, then topping that with a two-run double the next time up.
Lucero, Lippo, Gabe Wynn and Matt Hilborn all knocked in runs with hits, while the final two Wolf runs in the surge scored on a throwing error.
Cruising at 12-5, just three outs away from closing out a romp, Coupeville decided to even things up by suddenly forgetting how to play defense, at least for half an inning.
Three errors and a balk by the previously fairly-stable Wolves opened the door, and Concrete burst through in style, tacking on four hits as they cut the lead to 12-11.
Coupeville came within inches of closing the game on a double play, but after forcing a runner at second for out #2, the ensuing throw to first base hit the dirt and skipped over the waiting glove for error #4 in the inning.
That allowed the tying run to shoot home, sending Concrete players into hysterics and emotionally sucker-punching the pro-Wolf crowd.
And yet, Coupeville never blinked.
Payne, one of only two senior starters for the Wolves, immediately settled down his freshman pitcher (Hilborn) and they got out of the inning.
Then, as he headed to the bench, he commanded his team to go win in the bottom of the seventh.
They listened.
Three straight walks put Ty Eck, Hunter Smith and CJ Smith perched on the bags with no outs and Payne strode to the plate, ready to claim the same legendary status once owned by big brother Morgan.
Staring down the Concrete pitcher, Cole jumped on a pitch and wrote the perfect ending, launching the ball into the dying sun.
As the ball caught grass, Eck stomped on home and the crowd went bonkers with a mix of joy and relief, the middle Payne kid strolled around first and into Wolf lore.
“Cole, what a great game he had,” Aparicio said. “Not just at the plate, either. He called a really good game and talked to his pitchers when they were struggling and got them focused.
“I’m really proud of him.”
