AISA SEMIS: Macon East splits with Clarke Prep

Macon East’s Jackson Todd slides in ahead of the throw home in Tuesday’s semifinal series against Clarke Prep. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Call it a lesson learned.

Morgan Academy took the fight to Macon East Academy last week in the quarterfinals. After losing the first game, the Senators went on the offensive early in the second game, stealing home in an aggressive move designed to rattle the Knights.

A week later, locked in a 3-3 tie with Clarke Prep in the semfinals, Macon East coach Christian Coston thought back to that moment and called for Micah Andrews to steal home. The strategy worked as Clarke Prep pitcher John Allen Powell was called for a balk on the throw to the plate, resulting in a 4-3 walkoff win by the Knights in the second game of a doubleheader at Paterson Field on Tuesday.

 “We were just resilient today and we were trying to find a way to win,” Coston said. “Our backs were against the wall and we knew we needed one run. Our kid (Patrick Ernest) had two strikes at the plate and I knew if we stole home and were safe, we won; if he gets thrown out, we’ve got our four-hole leading off the eighth, so I took a chance.

“Luckily, for us, it paid off. Somebody stole on me last week so I tried to play my cards like that this time.”

The move allowed the Knights to salvage a split in the doubleheader after falling to the Gators 4-3 in the opener.

“Day in, day out, they just come to work and they’re so resilient,” Coston said. “Some days, we hit it and we pitch really well, then some days we hit it and don’t pitch it very well. But we had two quality outings (on the mound) today. I just thought we didn’t get some runs we should have gotten in the first game. But we’re fighting for another day. We’re coming back for a game three.”

Macon East Academy (25-14) and Clarke Prep (26-5) will play for the right to advance to the Class AA finals in the third game of the best-of-three semifinal series on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

In the first game, Macon East ace Bryant Grimes ran into trouble in the second and third innings, but held the Gators to a pair of hits over the final three innings to give his team an opportunity to win. 

Macon East took an early lead in the first inning on Ernest’s RBI single to score Jackson Todd and added a run in the second as Bryant Morrison singled and later scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.

The Gators surged in front 3-2 with consecutive singles by Cooper Clemmons and Connor Bumpers in the third inning, followed by a Powell double.

The game was tied 3-3 in an exciting fifth inning as Todd, who reached base in all four plate appearances, was thrown out at the plate following a bunt by Parker Ruskin. The Knights returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning, with Todd throwing out Bumpers at the plate on a grounder to third.

The Gators had taken the lead moments earlier, however, on a throwing error by the Knights and Tanner Bayles preserved the lead, retiring five of the next six Macon East batters before running out of eligibile pitches. Clemmons came on to strike out Ernest to end the game.

The second game, much like the first, left the Knights in a late-inning deficit. Trailing 3-1 and lifeless at the plate, Macon East struck with cleverness in the fifth inning. Powell had held the Knights to just two hits when David DeMaio led off with a double down the line. Both Sam Wallace and Andrews tried to move DeMaio around the bases with bunts, but both players reached base when the Gators couldn’t get the forceout at first base.

 Carter Hopson drove in DeMaio with a sacrifice fly and Todd singled in Wallace to tie the game.

 In the seventh, Andrews singled with one out, stole second and went to third on an error, setting the stage one out later for the win by taking a huge lead off third and running home, resulting in a balk call against Powell that forced a deciding game on Wednesday.

“We’re excited for the challenge,” Coston said. “Clarke Prep is a class act. They’ve got a good program. We knew it was going to be tough getting here but it was going to be even tougher to get out of here. But we’re resilient and we’re ready to go.”