Barrow's heroics guide North Marion past Madras in walkoff fashion
AURORA - Desperately needing a run to tie, the Huskies gradually loaded the bases in the home-half of the seventh inning. Hot off a two-RBI single in the fifth inning, freshman right fielder Colin Barrow stepped in with one out. Battling on a two-strike count, Barrow finally broke through and delivered, singling through the hole at second as Tristan Wampole cruised home with Wyatt Moore sliding home on his heels. Barrow's third and fourth RBIs of the day sent the Huskies home with the 6-5 walkoff victory over Madras on Friday evening, capping off a 3-0 week.
Madras (10-8, 4-5) struck for three runs in the opening inning, largely due to shaky defense from North Marion (12-7, 8-1). Two singles, two Husky errors, and two hit batsmen allowed the White Buffaloes to take the early edge. North Marion loaded the bases with one out in the second but fell victim to an inning-ending double play.
The Huskies eventually put runs on the board in the third thanks to four hits in the frame. Brock Breshears, Emry Patterson, and Kyle Williamson started the offensive attack with back-to-back-to-back singles to fill the bases for Wampole. Tristan brought home North Marion's first run on a sac fly. Moore placed the ball down the right field line in the ensuing at bat, bringing another run across and narrowing the Buffs' lead to one after three.
Madras padded their one-run lead in the fifth with a double and a triple in consecutive at bats. By the time the top of the fifth was over, the White Buffaloes had regained their three-run advantage.
Needing a quick answer, the Huskies accomplished just that in the bottom of the fifth, countering with two runs of their own. Two quick outs were recorded in the inning, but Nat Barrell drew a walk and Keltin Boykin doubled to put a couple of runners in scoring position. Colin Barrow came through with a single to left-center field, plating both Barrell and Boykin and pulling the Huskies back within a run.
The White Buffaloes could only manage one runner in the sixth and seventh innings combined, setting the stage for an all-important home-half of the seventh inning. Madras' first relief pitcher couldn't find the zone when he took the hill in the seventh, handing out walks to Wampole and Moore. With a new pitcher atop the mound, Barrell put down a sac bunt that advanced both runners into scoring position. The Buffs opted to put Boykin on via an intentional walk, loading the bases for Barrow. After taking a first-pitch strike, Barrow was fighting an uphill battle throughout the at bat, fouling off several pitches before making solid contact to hit the walkoff single.
North Marion out-hit the White Buffaloes 11-6 as four Husky batters - Patterson, Williamson, Boykin, and Barrow - had multi-hit days with two apiece. Barrow far and away led the team with four runs batted in. Extra base hits came courtesy of Williamson and Boykin as North Marion fell one hit short of tying a season-high that was set just Monday.
Brock Breshears (8-0, 1.36) was the unsung hero of Friday's contest, grinding out yet another victory on the mound. Breshears threw all seven innings on three day's rest, allowing six hits, three earned runs and walking just one.
Next up, North Marion makes the trek to Madras for a rematch with the White Buffaloes. First pitch is slated for a slightly earlier time of 4:00pm.