MAC ends season after valiant comeback

By DONN ADAMSON
Daily Journal Sports Editor

PARK HILLS — The Mineral Area Cardinals were bumped out of the Region 16 play-offs with a devastating 11-10 loss in eight innings by the Maple Woods Monarchs on Sunday. The game which was started on Saturday but was halted in the fifth inning by rain, was restarted for about 10 minutes, enough time for the Monarchs to score one more run to make it 8-4 for Sunday’s second half.

The rain was gone as the game was renewed at 9 a.m., but the players now had to battle with 30-40 mph winds blowing out to leftfield.

Justin Forsyth took the mound with a runner on third and two outs to strike out the next batter.

The Monarchs went to their submariner Justin Munson in an attempt to keep the ball down with the winds making everything in the air a nightmare for the fielders. A pair of singles by Shane Graue and Blake Pinnon scored Ty Craft who had been hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth inning.

T.J., Brewer got under a pitch and popped up to third, but the wind played havoc on the ball and it dropped in 20 feet beyond the base with three fielders diving to try and catch it. Brewer was able to turn the pop-up into a double.

Down to their last at-bats, the Cardinals began a rally that was enabled by wind and cold as the Maple Woods fielders had trouble handling the ball. Garrett Oliver reached on a rushed throw from second, Jimmy Thompson singled, Shane Menz walked to load the bases and Scott Jokerst replaced him on the bag.

Craft was hit again with a pitch to score Oliver, and a single by Seth Blackwell scored Thompson as the runners went station to station on the play. A ground ball to third had double play written all over it, but the perfect throw home popped out of the catcher’s mitt as Jokerst crossed the bag.

Still down by a run, two straight outs seemed to spell doom for the Cardinals and a ground ball to short near second base looked to be the clincher for the Monarchs, but the ball was booted and not recovered in time as the tying run crossed the plate.

Oliver drew a walk for the go-ahead run and what looked disastrous before had switched dug-outs, specially as Forsyth got two quick outs to start the bottom of the seventh.

The next batter, Cory Steufer, did the only thing he could, swing for the fences, and it paid off as he tied the game with his solo shot, sending the game into extra innings.

The Cardinals could not rally again in the eighth, giving the momentum to the home team (which was won by a flip of a coin before the game). A lead-off walk by J.T. Huckabay and a following passed ball was countered with an intentional walk to Brandon Wayne and a pick-off of Huckabay at second by Forsyth.

However, three pitches that reached the backstop over the next three batters enabled Wayne to move up 90 feet at a time and eventually score the winning run.

The Cardinals end their season at 28-21. Maple Woods would be later eliminated by Jefferson College, and Jefferson and Crowder will meet in what could be the championship game today at 10 a.m. unless Jefferson can win, then a second game will be played to proclaim the tournament winner.

The first five innings were published in Sunday’s Daily Journal.