A suicide squeeze is known as the riskiest play in baseball.
Knowing if it was done right they would be clutching the B.C. Baseball midget double-A championship trophy Sunday at Citizen Field, the Prince George Lomak Knights were willing to take the chance.
Standing on third base, Scott Walters took off as soon as Ladner Red Sox pitcher Ryan Mackenzie let go of the ball. Then it was up to Matt Knight to lay down the bunt.
It worked like a charm for the home team. Knight left the ball spinning in the dirt a few feet from home plate and by the time Red Sox catcher Jordan Dawson reached down to pick it up, the speedy Walters was only a second away from touching the plate with the walk-off run the Knights needed to clinch an 8-7 victory.
Pandemonium ensued as the Knights rushed out to swarm Walters, knowing they'd pulled off the ultimate heist, while a frenzied crowd of about 900 Knights supporters hugged and high-fived each other after watching their boys win their biggest tournament, the first most of them had ever played on a home diamond.
“My heart was racing that whole time, it was a crazy play and I was so scared,” said Walters. “I got a good jump and Matty laid down the bunt perfectly, it couldn’t have gone any better. It was a game-changer and we won, the best feeling in my whole life.”
Knights third base coach Jody Hannon made the call to apply the squeeze, knowing Walters is one of the Knights' fastest baserunners.
“I called Matt aside before his bat and I said, ‘Hey kid, it’s your Grade 12 year, what do you want to do with your last at-bat as a Knight, do you want to swing away or do you want to win?’ He said he wanted to win,” said Hannon.
“That’s the first squeeze I’ve done in my life and it feels so good to win that way,” said Knight. “It was a back-and forth battle all game long. Even when they hit that home run we knew we could still come back from it and that’s exactly what we did.”
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Knights rallied with four runs to take the lead. Dustin Aldana started it off with an infield hit and used his footspeed to draw a hurried throw which went in the dirt, allowing him to steal second. Ajay Nickolet walked, which brought leadoff hitter Michael Schwab to the plate. Schwab bunted and Dawson tried to force out Aldana at third, but the toss went into four territory, allowing Aldana to score.
Pitcher Cam Gray walked Walters to load the bases with one out. Cole Schwing popped up for the second out and the next batter, Knight, worked up a full count before he was walked, scoring a run. Brandon Hanson, the designated “extra hitter,” doubled into the left field porch to score two more runs and give the Knights their first lead.
It didn’t last long. After giving up a single, Knights pitcher Schwing was one batter away from sealing the win in the top of the seventh with pinch runner Parker Strukoff on first base when Will Robinson cracked a two-run home run over the left field fence to put the Red Sox ahead 7-6.
Having already come up with two clutch wins in elimination games earlier in the day, the Knights’ resiliency was tested again, and did they ever deliver.
“I knew our boys would pull through and tie it up and at least go into extras but we walked it off, which was even better,” said Schwing. “I’ve never seen a team win like that, even on TV.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Michael Taylor pounded out a grounder into centrefield and Walters reached on an error to Ladner shortstop Jared Baltzer when he double-clutched on the throw to first and it was off-target. Taylor was on third when Schwing popped up to shallow right field and Taylor had enough time to tag up and come in with the tying run, while Walters advanced to third with just one out, setting the stage for Knight’s squeeze play.
The highs and lows of the game made some unforgettable memories for both teams and it will take time for the sting to go away on the Red Sox.
“It’s a tough game, good for Prince George, we would like to get the victory but that’s how baseball goes,” said the 17-year-old Robinson. “My team’s played well all year and this tournament just shows what we’ve done all year.”
Ladner lost 8-7 to the Knights in eight innings in their tournament-opener Thursday. Knights head coach Shane Taylor knew how close the two teams had been all year and never doubted his players would rally, even when they were down to their last two outs.
“That could have gone either way. Man, I took a big gulp when that (Robinson home run) went over but I didn’t lose faith in our kids, they’ve been doing it all year, they’ve been batting through it,” said Taylor.
Ladner wasted no time getting the offence going Sunday, putting together a string of hits off starter Craig Uwimana-Budskin to collect three runs in the first inning. The 16-year-old Nickolet cut the deficit to 3-1 with a third-inning home run, his first in four years.
Facing Michael Taylor, who took over to pitch in the third inning, the Red Sox brought two more runs across in the fourth. Baltzer rapped one off the wall to start the inning and got into scoring position, then moved up to third and came home after tagging up on a fly-out from Jordan Bogress. Gray’s hit to centrefield was deep enough to score the second run of the inning.
Ladner breezed to a 16-6 win over the Vancouver Expos in a semifinal playoff Sunday, a far cry from what was coming their way in the final.
“These close, tight games are what everybody comes to watch and they’re fun being part of,” said Red Sox head coach Ray Beisick. "This will hurt for awhile but I think the boys will bounce back and we’ll be back at it next year. It was a very well-run tournament and we had a great time in Prince George.”
Just to get to the final, the Knights had to win two elimination games. They beat the Campbell River Tyees 13-3 in an early-morning tiebreaker, then knocked off the previously undefeated Tsawwassen Dodgers 9-2 in a semifinal playoff.
“We were hurting and it’s hot out, it’s muggy, and we really dug deep – it absolutely shows our character,” said Hannon. “We have a great group of kids here and there’s nothing sweeter than winning with people you care about, I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”
The Knights will now represent B.C. in the Western Canadian championship tournament, Aug. 12-14 in St. Albert, Alta.
