Leesburg, Va. — Every time Nansemond River took the lead, the Independence High School baseball team had a near immediate response. Never trailing for more than a half inning, the Tigers showed their resiliency, overcoming first- and fifth-inning deficits, before rallying in the eighth to trump the Warriors, 6-3, in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal on June 9 in Leesburg.
“We have not played from behind a lot this year; in most of our games, we’ve scored first and kept leads. But we always talk about being able to take a punch,” Independence head coach Joe McDonald said. “This is a tough group, they’re very resilient, and there’s no panic in them.”
[adrotate banner=”56″]Nansemond River senior shortstop Darnell Parker, Jr. hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first in an effort to steal the moment for the Warriors.
“Give those guys a lot of credit; they’re gritty, they’re tough, they put some tough at-bats together,” McDonald said.
But the Tigers responded in the top of the second, when Independence senior shortstop David Mendez led off the inning with a triple. With a runner on third and one out, senior starter Chad Yates roped a double to left center to score Mendez and tie the game up at 1-1.
The Tigers took their first lead of the game in the top of the fifth when senior first baseman Tyler Fetterman hit an opposite field home run to right. However, the Warriors responded in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-RBI single off the bat of junior center fielder Aden Judge.
But that Nansemond River lead was short lived as Yates once again provided the answer on a solo shot to dead center in the top of the sixth to re-tie the game at 3-3.
“Chad’s one of the most competitive guys on our roster. He’s a tough kid,” McDonald said. “To not have his best stuff today on the mound, then to come up there, in that spot, down a run, and barrel one up over the deepest part of the park says everything you need to know about him.”
After a leadoff walk to Mendez to lead off the eighth, freshman third baseman Colton Hicks sacrificed Mendez to second to move the go-ahead run into scoring position. Then, after an intentional walk to Yates, senior DH Troy Koerner perfectly executed a safety squeeze to score Mendez and give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.
Then, with two outs and runners on first and second, senior outfielder Eli Wiggins drove in Yates with a single to right. With a 2-run lead, Independence senior leadoff hitter Jack McDonald then found an opening, dropping a single in front of the Nansemond River center fielder to increase the Independence lead to 6-3.
“When we have good at-bats and put good swings on it, good things are going to happen,” coach McDonald said. “Troy executed that safety squeeze there then we got a couple hits to fall in.”
With three outs standing between them and a return trip to a state championship game, the Tigers turned to Fetterman, who slammed the door to send Independence to the VHSL Class 5 State championship with a 6-3 extra-innings win.
“When you get to this point, playing in elimination games, nothing’s going to be given to you. Every game is really, really difficult. We understand that,” coach McDonald said. “So to play here in Loudoun, in this big moment, will be an electric environment.”