Still standing: Ridgewood's historic win was a wild ride
Steel-willed Generals didn't blink in face of adversity in regional final rematch
Sam Blackburn
Coschocton Tribune
COLUMBUS - Maybe it was a touch of fate.
If you ask Chad Lahna, perhaps it was Tommy Thompson's spirit in the sky. Either way, Ridgewood found a way to advance on Saturday, just like it has throughout the Division III baseball tournament.
And that was no easy task.
The Generals found themselves trailing defending regional champion Minford by a run in the sixth inning, only to tie the game with a clutch hit. An inning later, an unlikely Ridgewood escape act kept the game tied.
On to extra innings it went, and that's when the Generals caught a few breaks — and got more two-out magic — to pull out a 4-3 win on Saturday in a regional final at Ohio Dominican.
Ridgewood (23-9) advanced to the state tournament for the first time. It will play Canton Central Catholic at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Canal Park in Akron. The winner returns at 7 p.m. on Sunday to play for the state championship.
Minford finished 29-2.
"I think we can compete with anyone who is left in the tournament," left fielder Gabe Tingle said. "It's one game at a time. I love my teammates. That's all I can say."
The Generals savored their biggest win afterward, particularly because of its opponent. It was Minford that knocked them out of the tournament in the regional finals last season, a loss that simmered within the Generals' collective minds for months.
They finally got their revenge on Saturday, one day after the game was postponed due to late afternoon storms that produced heavy rain on ODU's campus. It had no effect on Ridgewood's play, or the pitching of Koleten Smith, who fired a complete game to get the win.
But he wasn't the biggest hero. That moniker belonged to junior Kaden Smith, whose two-out double in the top of the eighth sent the freshman Tingle home with the go-ahead run off Minford southpaw Elijah Vogelsong.
That inning started with a pair of outs, and Tingle came up trying to start a rally. He tried to ask for timeout from the home plate umpire, who didn't award it. Tingle then hit the pitch into the hole at shortstop for an infield single.
"He was quick pitching," Tingle said. "I just wasn't ready, but I was like 'oh well, I have to go with it.'"
A few pitches later, Tingle took off for second. Vogelsong stepped off and appeared to have him in a rundown, but Tingle managed to somehow elude and tag at second base to keep the inning alive.
Smith followed with a blast to the gap in right field that cleared the heads of both defenders. Tingle scored easily, sending the Ridgewood faithful into a frenzy.
"It was a curveball," Kaden Smith said. "He just kind of hung one up there and I drove it to the gap. It was a good pitch to hit, I guess."
Koleten Smith got the final three outs without consequence, setting off a massive celebration on the field. The Generals finally were over the proverbial hump, something that Thompson, the former legendary voice of WTNS radio who died earlier this year, predicted to Lahna prior to last season's regional final.
Lahna never forgot.
"He said that whatever happens, at some point this team is going to take that next step," he said. "We've got a lot of individuals who I think are watching down on us, and it's just a funny game. A bounce here, or hit here or there, we're able to survive and advance."
There plenty of fireworks prior to the wild conclusion.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Minford took the lead when Vogelsong's hooking liner to right with men on second and third and two outs got both runs home. It was a rally triggered by an error at third base, one of three General fielding miscues.
Facing its first deficit of the tournament, Ridgewood rallied in the top of the sixth when Kaden Smith worked a two-out walk with the bases empty. One batter later, Chase Minet launched a fly ball to the gap that left fielder Brayden Davis almost turned into a miraculous running catch.
He appeared to corral it, but the third base umpired ruled the ball dislodged when he hit the fence, resulting in a run-scoring triple and a tie game.
"That kid made one hell of a play on that ball," Lahna said.
Minford had a prime scoring chance in the seventh when a misplayed ball in left field resulted in a two-base error to lead off the inning. True to form, though, the Generals' defense responded.
Minford tried to sacrifice the runner to third and bunted to a charging Javan Belt at third. Anticipating the bunt, he whipped a quick throw to third to a covering Memphis Cutshall, who was there from shortstop as a result of the wheel play.
The play wasn't done.
Bailey Rowe, who administered the bunt, tried to take second base on the play in a surprise attack. But Kaden Smith, the center fielder, was waiting for the throw at second base. He tagged him out for an unlikely double play.
A single followed, but Tingle's long running catch in foul territory against the left-field fence ended the threat.
"That was the worst thing that could have happened to us at that point in time," said Minford coach Anthony Knittel. "We were trying to bunt down the first base line, but I think they were playing into the shift and pitched him in to take it that way. Like I said, that's a very well-coached team. They play the game right."
Ironically, the Generals had practiced the wheel play numerous times in practice.
"Perfection is what it was," said Tingle, who was backing up third on the play. "Center field was there and doing what he was supposed to do. I knew we had the guy at third. At first (Memphis) hesitated, but the next thing I saw Kaden coming in."
It was yet another example of what has fueled the team's postseason.
"They were a 29-1 team for a reason," Lahna said. "We knew at some point they were going to throw a punch. We made some non-typical plays and it cost us. But it talks about it our resolve as a team. We didn't blame anybody. We picked each other up."
sblackbu@gannett.com
Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR