INDIANAPOLIS – Well of course that’s how it had to end Saturday.
It had to end with the Snider team in a jubilant pile in front of Westfield’s dugout. It had to end with another rally of epic proportions.
Down by two runs going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Snider tied the game on senior second baseman Tom Zumbaugh’s two-strike single into right, then won it 3-2 in the eighth inning on senior catcher Alex Mitchell’s sacrifice fly that was deep enough to bring in a head-first-sliding Spencer Anderson.
He was called safe. And his fists went up. And Snider partied like it was 2009, or 2006, take your pick.
The victory at Victory Field marked the second Class 4A baseball championship for the Panthers (25-3), who also came from behind and also won in the eighth inning to beat Indianapolis Cathedral.
This time, Snider cut it a bit close. But of course that’s how it had to be for a team that was down to not only its last miracle but also last strike.
The come-from-behind win is the long-lasting M.O. of this team, which had trailed in its last four tournament games.
The win was the 11th straight for the Panthers, which had taken this rally-cap business to a new level throughout the tourney.
The Panthers recovered from a 3-2 deficit to beat Crown Point in the semistate in South Bend.
Snider rallied from a six-run deficit to defeat Pendleton Heights in the first game of the regional, then did it again later in the day when they came back from seven runs to beat McCutcheon.
But this one Saturday. Oh, this one Saturday was one for the ages, if not those who aged during the process.
After being dominated by Westfield pitcher Kyle Kramp, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 45th round of the major league draft, the never-say-die Panthers weren’t about to die.
Going into the final inning with just two hits off Kramp, Snider got a single from Mitchell. Then Cody Johnson drove a double into deep center field to drive in Mitchell.
After a fly ball to center, Nick Vachon, pinch running for Johnson, tagged up and went to third.
With two out, Zumbaugh became Snider’s final hope.
Kramp’s first pitch was a strike, and the green-clad Westfield fans along the first-base line roared. And they hollered again when Kramp threw another strike.
But with an 0-2 count, Zumbaugh singled into the hole between the second and first basemen and Vachon came in with the tying run.
