As the old cliche goes, “It’s not over till the fat lady sings.” And that can without a doubt be said for the game between No. 1 Chattahoochee Valley (51-11, 2-1 JUCO) and No. 16 Harford (53-11, 2-2 JUCO).
The Pirates’ of Chattahoochee Valley jumped out to a 12-2 lead with three outs remaining in the sixth, with a possible 10-run rule game in the balance. Someone forgot to send the memo to head coach Tome Eller and the Harford Fighting Owls.
That’s when, as the home team, Harford in the sixth would find their hot bats as well as some trickery on defense. The Fighting Owls’ scored eight runs in the bottom half of the sixth, putting the 10-run rule out of grasp and extending their season. With the eight runs, it brought the score to 12-10 in favor of Chattahoochee.
Enter, the hidden ball trick, as Daulton Weeks, third baseman for Harford, noticed the Pirates’ runner at third not paying attention to where the ball was. Weeks took the baseball from behind his back, ran up to the runner at third and tagged him out, earning the second run of the inning.
Chattahoochee Valley would ultimately prevail in the run fest, 14-11.
Leading the way for Chattahoochee Valley offensively was Frank Wager, who had a gigantic day at the plate, going three for five with two home runs and three RBIs. Behind Wager’s great day, Carson Hughes went three for four with four RBIs.
For the Harford Fighting Owls, Luke Johnson lead the way a big day, too, going two for five with five RBIs and two home runs.
With Harford now limited, the second of the tournament’s two newcomers heads home, the other being Darton St. (GA).
