Opelika loses heartbreaker to Hoover

By Tom Peavy

Published: May 17, 2008

MONTGOMERY — Two outs is all that separated Opelika from a Class 6A baseball title.

But no one at Paterson Field on Saturday realized just how hard those two outs would be.

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After crushing Opelika in Saturday’s first game, 12-4, to force a deciding Game 3, Hoover was on the ropes in the top of the seventh, trailing by four runs.

But the Buccaneers rallied for five runs in their half of the inning and held off Opelika in the bottom half to yank a 7-6 win from the Bulldogs’ grasp.

“It’s a heartbreaking loss and a tough way to end it,” Opelika head coach Barry Hightower said. “These guys put their heart and soul into this season and that’s why it hurts so bad when it didn’t work out for them.”

Brandon Rogers was solid on the mound through six innings, allowing just three hits.

But in the seventh with a 6-2 lead, a leadoff walk to Ryan Dunne, a single by Duston Daugherty and an infield single by Harold Collins loaded the bases with no outs. It also spelled the end of the day for Rogers.

“From the time I came in, I felt it was our game,” Rogers said. “But I feel like I sold my boys short not being able to get those last three outs for them. I feel like I let my team down.”

But Jonathon Campbell couldn’t finish the deal in relief.

Steven Glasgow got one run in with a sacrifice fly, but Tyler Mims reached on an infield single to load the bases back up.

A wild pitch plated a run to make it a two-run game, and Sam Frost solidified his MVP performance with a two-run double to make it 6-all.

Hoover wasn’t done, though, as Brandon Perry followed with a shot off the wall in left field to bring in the go-ahead run.

“It’s been 27 years since a team from Hoover, which was Berry at that time, has won a state championship,” Hoover head coach Rick Davis said. “This year these guys — the most unlikely group — put it together in the end, believed in themselves and finished the thing to the end when the chips were down about as low as they could get.”

Following the loss, Opelika players and coaches struggled to find words to convey the heartbreak of being so close, but coming up short.

“I feel devastated,” senior center fielder Mike Love said, fighting off tears. “We had the game, and now it’s gone.”

Two big stats stood out in Opelika’s (42-4) two losses — five errors in Game 2 and only four hits in Game 3.

For a moment, though, it seemed Opelika would be able to overcome the rough day.

The Bulldogs scored four runs in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead, and held that advantage into the sixth.

Love then gave Opelika some insurance, hammering a two-run homer to put his team up by what seemed to be a comfortable four runs.

Glasgow, who took over for Dylan Breeding in the fourth, got the win after allowing just two hits over the final three innings.

The day got off to a bad start for Opelika.

Hoover scored one in the second and plated five in the third to jump out to the early 6-0 lead. The Bucs also chased Opelika ace Zach Blatt, who left in the third with a sore arm.

The Bucs added to their total with two runs each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

The lone bright spot for Opelika in the loss was a two-run homer off the bat of Drake Sasser in the fourth.

Robby Lilly took the win for Hoover, giving up just four runs on nine hits.

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