Brooks won the school’s first state baseball title, but it took multiple weather delays and a timely balk to do it.
Coming out of a fifth-inning weather delay locked in a 3-all battle, the Lions (27-8) rallied for a 6-4 victory over Sipsey Valley today to sweep the Class 4A title series at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.
Sipsey Valley scored a go-ahead run in the fifth inning but an error in the sixth allowed the Lions to tie the game back up at 4-all before a balk brought the winning run across the plate for Brooks.
“It’s been a fun playoffs for us, and we had another home field advantage here tonight and that has been a difference, we’ve feed off that energy (from the crowd) over the last few weeks,” Brooks coach Jacob Fowler said. “I’d like to thank the coaching staff because I didn’t even get down there this year until a week before the season started, coaching girls basketball, but that’s the faith and trust I have in those guys.”
“These players, you cant say enough about them. We got six seniors who’ve poured their heart and soul into this program for four years – some with six – and to do what they’ve done this year is pretty special.”
The Lions held a 3-1 lead after four innings before lightning in the area forced multiple delays with Sipsey Valley tying the game up between delays. The final delay gave way to the Bears’ second lead of the game but it was short-lived as Brooks hammered down in the sixth inning with three runs off three hits to retake the lead for good.
Caleb Junkin was pegged with the loss for Sipsey Valley after allowing six runs off six hits while registering two walks and five strikeouts. Jordan Moore was brought in to relieve but the tying and go-ahead runs were the responsibility of Junkins after giving up the first two hits of the inning.
Scoring summary: Sipsey Valley got the ball rolling in the bottom of the first inning with a Brandon Moore double and Cade Whitley single before a RBI single from Jackson Smith scored Moore.
The Lions responded with three runs in the top half of the second frame as Carson Daniel scored on a throwing error and Lake Spurgeon’s two-RBI double brought home Chandler Ross and Charlie Crowley.
Both sides were retired the next two innings until the Bears tied the game at 3-all in the bottom of the fifth on a two-RBI double from Brandon Moore. Sipsey Valley took its first lead with the next at-bat on a RBI sac fly from Cade Whitley.
Consecutive singles by Brooks to start the sixth inning gave the Lions the baserunners they need to retake the lead and it came to pass on an error and balk that tied and subsequently led the game. A RBI single from Charlie Crowley capped the scoring for both teams as each side was retired in order in the final inning.
Star of the game: Lake Spurgeon. Brooks’ senior lead-off man was 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double in the second inning.
“The first state title in baseball is the first title in all of the big three sports,” he said, "which was a goal that we set to reach to the end here and finally we arrived. I dreamed of playing in a state championship since I was probably two.”
Series MVP: Thorne Tapp. The Game 1 starter on the mound was selected series MVP after allowing one run off eight hits in the Lions’ 4-1 victory while collecting six Ks and one walk. Although he did not play in Game 2 of the series, Tapp was as effective as a teammate as he was on the mound in Game 1.
“My role has always been when I’m not on the field – I lost my voice and that’s my job is to be the best teammate I can be on the field or not,” he said. “Errors are going to happen, I don’t talk down to them. When I’m not on the field, I’m the loudest one in the dugout because they’re yelling for me and that’s what you’re suppose to do. I love these guys to death and my job whenever I’m not on the mound is to be the best teammate I can be.”
Complete games: The Lions only used two pitchers for the championship series as Tapp and Villalta each earned wins in complete game performances.
Villalta got the win on the mound in Game 2 after allowing four runs off six hits with eight strikeouts and a walk. The junior right-handed pitcher got into a jam in the fifth inning, allowing the Bears to take the lead after the first weather delay, but responded after the second and third delays in shutting down the Sipsey Valley bats the final two innings.
“I was just trying to focus on coming back out there and throwing strikes,” Villalta said. “I knew from experience that when there’s a weather delay like that, it’s hard for the pitcher to find the zone again, get comfortable and get back in the groove.”
Stat leaders: Spurgeon was clutch at the plate and was joined by Carson Daniel, who went 2-for-3, and Crowley, who was 1-for-3 with the final RBI for Brooks.
The Bears were led by Moore, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Cade Whitley and Jackson Smith, who both recorded a RBI.
Coachspeak: “Obviously we’re excited to be here but the end result is not what we wanted. Super proud of us coming back after yesterday, dropping one, and then fought like we always have. The gritty little ball team that we have, that’s kind of what we’re built on and they did a super job of finishing at the end. I cant say enough about all of our guys, from the top of the lineup to the bottom, I’m just super proud of them. It hurts but we’re all going to learn from this experience.” -- Sipsey Valley coach Bobby Moore