The final score was 3-2 at Joe Nuxhall Field in a game that added another heart-pounding chapter to one of the state’s best rivalries.
“I screeched home and I looked up and I heard everybody screaming,” Cornwall said. “Basically, emotion just went through my body. We just never stopped fighting. I just can’t be more proud of my boys. I love ’em.”
Cornwall cracked a one-out double and went to third on a wild pitch. After an Evan Trentman pop-up for the second out, Ben Matthews sent a slow roller toward HHS third baseman Eric Roberts.
Roberts fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw to first base was in the dirt and couldn’t be handled by Shaun Brandenburg, and everybody wearing red exploded with joy.
“It felt,” Matthews said, “like we just conquered the world.”
Indians coach Tony Schulz did his best Jim Valvano imitation as the celebration began.
“I was just kind of looking for somebody to hug and give a high five,” Schulz said. “I was just so happy for our guys, especially right there with a senior (Matthews) on Senior Day. It’s just unbelievable. I don’t know what else to say.”
Fairfield, which tied the game with two runs in the seventh off Big Blue ace Korren Thompson, improved to 18-5 overall and 14-3 in the GMC. Hamilton had its title hopes dashed in falling to 12-8, 11-5.
The two teams will meet again at 7 p.m. on Friday at Stang Field in Hamilton, and Mason (16-6, 13-4) will visit Sycamore. The Comets can get a piece of the crown with a win and an FHS defeat.
“We’re all disappointed, but we’re proud of the effort we put forward,” Big Blue coach Joe Lewis said. “We put ourselves in a position to win the game, and that’s all you can ask. You’ve got to tip your hat to Fairfield for not giving up and doing what they had to do to get the win.”
Andrew Sams retired the only batter he faced and picked up the win in relief of Kurt Lange and Lucas Sheriff. Thompson struck out 11 and walked four in 7.2 innings for HHS, and Jacob Pennington took the loss.
Thompson was rolling through the Fairfield lineup like a man until things suddenly went awry in the seventh.
Armed with a 2-0 lead, the southpaw struck out Brock Mathis to start the seventh — it was the 16th straight batter he put down. Kaleb Ford then reached base on an error, Nolan McWhorter doubled for the hosts’ second hit of the day, and Matt Seibert blooped an RBI double down the right-field line to make it 2-1.
Sam Mattingly was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Cornwall’s single to left plated pinch-runner Dashaun Vample. Noah Bauman (also a pinch-runner) tried to score the winning run on the play, but was cut down near home plate when Thompson — who was in front of catcher Drew Bridge — grabbed the throw and made the tag.
“You don’t see that too often,” Lewis said. “(Thompson) was in the wrong place. He should’ve been behind the catcher, not in front of the catcher, but he grabbed the ball and put the tag on the runner. So that worked out well for us.”
Big Blue escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Thompson issued a two-out walk to Mathis and was replaced by Pennington, who hit Ford and intentionally walked McWhorter. Seibert then struck out.
Cornwall got the Tribe going in the ninth with his double to left-center field. He was asked about what he was feeling at the plate.
“Pressure. Anger after I got down 0-2 in the count,” Cornwall said. “I put one in play, and it just went.”
Pennington looked like he might get out of it until Matthews’ game-ending ground ball. Cornwall was on third because he took off on a wild pitch that wasn’t very wild.
“That was an unbelievable read to get to third,” Schulz said. “That ball did not get far from the catcher. We’re aggressive, so I kind of liked that play.”
Would he still have praised Cornwall’s aggressiveness if he had gotten thrown out at third?
“Well, I got two guys thrown out at the plate today, so I can’t say too much about that,” Schulz said. “That’s just the way we’re going to play.”
Matthews admitted he wasn’t feeling all that great at the plate in the ninth. He was already 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the leadoff spot.
“I knew I had to get the ball on the ground so (Cornwall) got a chance to score because he’s probably one of the fastest guys in the league,” Matthews said. “So once I hit it into the ground … I just started hauling. All of a sudden I see him drop the ball, and I got really excited.”
It wasn’t a great ending for Hamilton or Roberts, but there are no easy plays in the ninth inning of a game like this, and Lewis said the sophomore has been a key figure this year.
“Since we brought him up and plugged him in at third base, he’s really increased our defensive efficiency,” the HHS coach said. “He’s made a difference for our team.”
Both teams finished with five hits. Bryce Couch doubled, singled and drove in a run for Big Blue, and Brandenburg chipped in an RBI.
Cornwall’s two hits paced Fairfield. Lange pitched 6.2 innings and allowed three hits and two runs, striking out four and walking one.
“We’ve had some crazy games in my three years here, but that was probably the nuttiest game of them all,” Schulz said. “It’s been a real long time since we won the GMC. That was the year after I graduated from here, and I’m an old man.
“When I took over the program three years ago, we talked about this moment and the work it was going to take. The two classes that graduated before this one also had a hand in this because they kind of set the tone of what our expectation was in the offseason and during the season. They brought the young kids up right, and the young kids are responding.”
The two pitchers of record were scheduled to be the starters in Friday’s matchup. Lewis said Pennington will still be Hamilton’s starter — Schulz was undecided about who he will send out first.
“The kids faced adversity head-on today, and it just didn’t work out,” Lewis said. “So you shrug it off, let go of it as soon as you can, and come back tomorrow and get back after it. We’re looking to win out. We’re going to go out with the intention of playing our best and getting the victory.”
One additional GMC game remains for Big Blue. They will host Colerain at 1 p.m. on Saturday to complete a suspended contest that’s tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning.
Hamilton 010-001-000—2-5-3
Fairfield 000-000-201—3-5-2
WP — Andrew Sams (5-1); LP — Jacob Pennington (3-3). Records: H 12-8, 11-5 GMC; F 18-5, 14-3 GMC
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