Down by six runs in the second inning, it seemed the South Whidbey All Star minor team was finished on Thursday.
Nope, not these kids.
They fought back behind the outstanding pitching of Charlie Patterson and Conor Antich and a solid double from Hunter Newman to tie the game at 8-8 and force Burlington-Edison into extra innings. But a final catch in the last moments tilted the contest Burlington’s way, 9-8.
“It was a very good game,” said South Whidbey coach Bill Patterson. “In the end, we got our mistakes out of the way early and the kids evolved into a first-class machine out there.”
Charlie Patterson pitched four innings and Antich went five in his second time on the mound.
Sluggish hitting plagued the team until Newman fired a double for two RBIs in the fourth inning to bring the score to 6-2.
“That woke us up and got us going,” the coach said.
His son then picked up a three-run double, Simms scored on a walk and the game was tied 6-6.
In the sixth inning, both teams scored twice, and then engaged in a pitching duel until the bottom of the ninth, when a pop fly was caught in left field by a Burlington player and it was over.
Coach Patterson said it was highly unusual for a Little League game to go to the ninth inning.
“I told them before we started it was a good night for an epic battle,” Patterson said. “The guys evolved tremendously during the series (1-2 record), and during this game they took it to the next level. Couldn’t have scripted a better contest, though I would have had the score reversed.”
He said the boys, their parents and fans won’t forget this game. Ever.
His son agreed.
“That was a pretty fun game to play,” Charlie Patterson said. “When our team started getting hits behind Hunter and Will, I was proud of them.”
Earlier in the week, the boys beat North Whidbey 5-3. Charlie Patterson scored on a Mitchell Grady single, but the other four runs were bases on walks.
“North Whidbey has an offense that can be reckless and dangerous,” the coach said. “Our game plan was to ignore any base-running craziness, and it worked.”
Overall, the coach said his boys played a disciplined, intense game that helped seal the win.
The 2009 South Whidbey Little League minor All Star team included Conor Antich, Mitchell Grady, Lewis Pope, Dylan Woodard, Audie Sterba, Will Simms, Maxfield Friedman, Josiah Sergeant, Trenton Piehler, Parker Buchanan, Hunter Newman, Tyler Heggenes, Charlie Patterson and coaches Bill Patterson and Craig Antich.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbey
record.com.
