Grand slam lifts Tunstall past Hargrave

By Matt Fuchs
Danville Register & Bee
Published: April 24, 2008

DRY FORK — Hargrave coach Scott Roach didn’t like the situation one bit, but the way he saw it, he had no other choice.

Clinging to a tie against the Tunstall Trojans in extra innings on Wednesday night, Roach had just called for an intentional walk of Dustin Cockram to load the bases. No outs were in the books, and Tunstall’s heavy-hitting Brett Hylton was coming to the plate.

Roll the dice and hope for a few force-outs, Roach figured. Maybe Hylton wouldn’t do too much damage.

“You think about it. You don’t have any choice though,” Roach said. “It’s all you can do.”

Hylton made him pay for the decision. The Tunstall junior took a first-pitch ball before crushing a game-winning grand slam over the fence in right field for a 9-5 Trojans victory in nine innings. It was Hylton’s eighth home run of the season.

“I was looking for something off-speed, and I got a changeup,” Hylton said. “I was just trying to put it in play, reach the outfield with it since there were no outs.”

Hylton had been looking for an off-speed pitch, because that was what he had been getting all game long. Well that, and because curveballs and changeups were also what had kept his Trojans (12-0, 3-0 Piedmont) off balance all day.

These were definitely not the same Tigers that had lost to Tunstall 9-0 back in mid-March. No, that much was clear in the fight they put up.

While the Trojans scored their runs in bunches, three in the third and two more in the fifth, the Tigers (9-5, 6-0 VIC) took theirs piecemeal. But a run here and a run there worked out well enough for Hargrave, which played the tortoise to Tunstall’s hare — setting off a back-and-forth battle and tying the game twice in regulation before forcing extra innings.

“We’ve been in some close ball games, and we expected a tough game today,” Tunstall coach Barry Shelton said. “Hargrave’s got a good ball team — they kept battling. It was anybody’s game.”

Said Roach: “When we played them earlier in the year we hadn’t gelled much yet. We just played better today.”

But better didn’t necessarily mean best, and when Hargrave relief pitcher Jimmy Martins’ curveball fell off in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Trojans were ready to take advantage.

Tunstall’s Cody Holder led off the home half of the inning with a single to center, and Justin Thompson followed up as the next batter with a hard single to left.

With those two runners on in a hurry, Roach made his decision to intentionally walk Cockram, the Trojans’ cleanup hitter, and bring Hylton up to the plate with the bases loaded.

Roach knew about all of Hylton’s home runs this season, but like he said, what choice was there? Besides, the Tigers had already escaped out of a jam in the same way — loading up the bases with an intentional walk and then getting out of the eighth inning unscathed with a pair of force-outs.

If it worked once, it could always work again, Roach had hoped.

But, with Hylton looking for something off-speed, and with Martin missing with his curveball — the changeup that came Hylton’s way on the second pitch of his at-bat was as good as gone the moment contact was made. Tunstall’s perfect season was saved.

“He’s always had power, but this year he’s learned to be a little more patient and selective at the plate,” Tunstall coach Barry Shelton said of Hylton. “He’s just a strong ole country boy.”

Tunstall 9, Hargrave 5, nine innings
Hargrave 010 021 100 — 5
Tunstall 003 020 004 — 9