Hammill single lifts NK, 9-8
Bat in hand, Al Hammill approached the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two away. Back in the seventh, he faced a similar situation with the game-winning run poised at third, but struck out to send New Kent’s Bay Rivers District baseball showdown with Lafayette’s invading Rams into extra innings.
To say his previous trip to the plate weighed heavily on his mind would have been an understatement.
“I was thinking definitely don’t do what I did the last time,” the Trojans’ first baseman said.
He didn’t.
With one swing of the bat, Hammill ended the marathon, bouncing a walk-off single into left field to drive in Jake Williams for the tie breaking run and a 9-8 victory.
“I put it through the ‘Al hole,’” he said proudly, pointing to the gap between the shortstop position and third base.
“Every time I hit the ball, I hit it right there,” he offered in a word of explanation.
Hammill’s hit climaxed an astounding comeback for the Trojans who trailed 8-2 in the sixth inning of the April 23 affair. Two runs in the sixth were followed by four more in the seventh to force extra frames.
“We were dead in the water,” New Kent coach Ronnie Cox said looking back to the sixth inning. “[Lafayette’s] got their ace [Ryan Fleischmann] on the mound, and we can’t do anything with him.”
The game opened on a positive note for the hosts as they broke a scoreless deadlock with a pair of third inning runs. Joey Bell singled to lead off and Williams walked. Bell scored on Jake Jones’ one-out single, and Williams trotted home on a Hammill sacrifice fly.
But Lafayette forged ahead with a five-run fourth as Drew Grimes singled in the first Ram run, Fleischmann drove in two more on a single to put the guests in front, and a pair of Trojan errors scored the final two runs of the frame. The Rams added two more in the fifth and one in the sixth.
The Trojans, meanwhile, began to chip away at the Ram lead after Williams legged out an infield hit with one away in the sixth. He worked his way to third and scored on Jones’ looping single to shallow center. Fleischmann, who had been cruising on the mound, then walked Steven Allen, prompting the Ram coaching staff to make a pitching change.
“When they pulled that kid and went to their relievers, I knew opportunities would open up for us,” Cox said.
Reliever Tanner Sheldon promptly bounced a pitch off Derrick Curtis to load the bases. He then walked Hammill, forcing in a run to cut the gap to 8-4. But as they did in the fifth, the Trojans left the sacks filled without making further headway.
Curtis, working in relief on the mound, retired the Rams in order in the seventh. Then with the Trojans up and Macon Heikes on the mound for the Rams, Heikes struck Kevin Peddicord with his first pitch, gave up a line drive single to Bell, and walked Williams to load the bases.
With one away, Jones grounded to Grimes who uncorked a wild throw to first enabling two runs to score. Allen followed with a two-run double down the left field line to tie the game.
Allen took over on the mound for the Trojans, allowing just one Ram base runner over the next two frames. In the bottom of the ninth and still facing Heikes, Williams got things started, beating the throw to first after third baseman Jeremy Wright bobbled a ground ball.
Adam Otey’s sacrifice bunt moved Williams to second before Heikes struck Jones with a pitch and walked Allen to again fill the bases. Curtis flied out to shallow center, forcing the runners to hold, but Hammill followed with his game-winning hit.
“Our kids never quit,” said Cox whose team improved to 4-8. “They love baseball, and they talk baseball. Everybody on the team did something to help us win tonight.
“These guys have great heart,” the coach added. “We’ve been hitting all year and it worked out for us. This was special.”