Nine years in the making
Photo by Josh McDaniel
It took nine years, but it feels just as sweet.
No. 17 Simsboro (14-13) broke a near decades-long playoff-win drought with a 9-7 road win over No. 16 Florien in the first round of the Division V nonselect baseball playoffs on Saturday, with the Tigers' top players showing out when it mattered most.
Hayden Rabo and Chris Harrell, Simsboro's leadoff and two-hole hitter respectively, combined to go 5-8 at the plate with 6 RBI in the win. Rabo gave the Tigers a solid outing on the mound as well - going all seven innings, allowing 4 earned runs and striking out 5 batters on 108 pitches. Harrell tied the game at 4-4 on an RBI ground out and put the final touch on the win with a base-clearing triple in the sixth.
"I told them both before the game that I needed them both to play well, not one of them hit. We needed them and they showed up for us," Simsboro head coach Scott Hiers said. "They both swung it well and both made some nice plays in the infield. I can't say enough about Hayden Rabo. I took him out in the sixth for a freshman but we had some slight trouble so I put him back in and he gets out of trouble."
Hiers said the win was bolstered by the two leaders but it took a collective effort to get the job done, including making enough plays when needed to limit damage.
Whether it be allowing no runs in a bases-loaded jam in the fifth or allowing only one run when Florien got two runners on with one out in the sixth, Hiers credited his defense for backing up Rabo enough to escape tough spots.
"It was a team win," Hiers said. "It was pretty emotional afterwards because it really felt like we had a monkey on our back that we finally got rid of. But now we gotta go play the number one team in Pitkin so we have to be ready. And to be honest, I told them that at this point we're playing with house money. They can go play loose. There's no pressure now. The pressure is on them [Pitkin] to not lose to a Cinderalla team like us. And I think being on the road is better for us because we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, especially when we're home and playing in front our fans and family. It might have been a blessing."
Simsboro will travel to defending state champion and No. 1 seed Pitkin (21-3) in the second round of the playoffs.
