DULUTH—Using a four-run fourth inning to aid another stellar pitching performance from Blake Bailey, the Rock Ridge VFW baseball team fended off elimination from the District 8 tournament on Monday, defeating Hibbing 8-2 in their first game of the day.
The win moved Rock Ridge into the District 8 championship games starting later that evening and concluding on Tuesday.
Offensively, the fourth inning was a highlight for Post 1172, but the ability to score runs consistently throughout the game was what aided Rock Ridge according to their head coach Paul Coombe.
“We were able to put up runs in most of the innings we played today,” Coombe said after the game. “We had good at bats today. There weren’t a lot of bad at bats. In the fourth, we got the timely hits. We took some extra bases and moved kids around. When you do that, you’re likely to put some runs on the board.”
For Post 1221 out of Hibbing, when momentum swung away from them, it was hard to gain it back. Co-head coach Tim Zubich credited Rock Ridge’s pitcher Bailey and said his team had a couple unlucky plays that compounded the problem.
“We had a few miscues and a few unfortunate bounces,” Zubich said. “Rock Ridge got some momentum when a ball in the outfield bounces seven feet over a kid’s head and that doesn’t normally happen.
“[Rock Ridge] clutched up, got some big hits and we couldn’t string them together. Their pitcher kept us off balance so tip your hat to him. They clutched up and we had a few too many mistakes and that was the difference in the game.”
After Bailey and Hibbing starter Gavin Lamphere exchanged 1-2-3 innings in the first, each team manufactured a run in the second.
In the top half of the inning, Aiden Bird benefited from the aforementioned lucky bounce when a single to right field turned into a triple after the ball took a high bounce right over the outfielder’s head. Rock Ridge took advantage of the runner so close to home and Jake Coombe knocked him home with an RBI single up the middle, 1-0.
Hibbing responded in the home half of the inning when Kadin Augustin started the frame with a single to right. He moved to second on a fielder’s choice and came around to score when Cole Swanson knocked a double to center field, 1-1.
Bailey and Lamphere continued to duel and put up scoreless third innings but Rock Ridge grabbed a lead in the fourth that they wouldn’t surrender, taking advantage of errors, walks and some big hits.
Starting the frame, Bailey reached on an infield error and then his runner Colter Marolt moved to second when Bird was walked.
Tasked with putting down the bunt to move the runner’s over, Coombe came up next and delivered more than expected. The bunt laid down had some force to it and was launched past the pitcher’s mound into the infield, burning the numerous Hibbing players expecting something closer to home plate. The awkward play allowed Marolt to score, giving Rock Ridge the lead.
With runners on first and second, Post 1172 brought both home when Connor Saxhaug blasted a triple to center field, 4-1.
Posted up at third, Saxhaug came in to score with Jaxson Lamppa at the plate thanks to a balk from Lamphere, making it 5-1. Lamphere managed to get his second out shortly after but Hibbing’s coaches had seen enough and Lamphere was pulled with Easton Fisher taking over on the hill. Fisher grabbed a quick third out to move the game into the bottom of the fourth with his squad trailing 5-1.
Hoping to manufacture a response, Augustin started another inning with a leadoff hit, singling to center. Lamphere followed that up with an infield single and Augustin moved to third when Cole Swanson hit into the fielder’s choice.
Hibbing cut the deficit by one right after with Tate Swanson dropping a single into shallow left-center field, 5-2. That’s all Post 1221 would get that inning, however, as Bailey limited the damage and picked up the third out with ease.
Rock Ridge plated one run off of Fisher in the top of the fifth inning, starting things off with a one-out walk to Bailey. Bird singled to right to move Marolt (running for Bailey) to third.
With one out, Marolt made it home safely on an error after the Hibbing catcher attempted to pick off Bird stealing second.
Taking the 6-2 lead, the game was soon put into a rain delay with Saxhaug up to bat on a 1-1 count. If Hibbing was going to try and change their fortunates, Zubich hoped that the rain delay might shift the momentum.
“It seemed like we got a little bit more relaxed after that,” Zubich said. “The guys were having some fun in the dugout and hanging out. One year we had a similar situation during one of our state tournament runs with a different team. We had a rain delay and we were struggling before that but that ended up being a big spark for us. I told that story to the guys hoping something similar could get going but we just couldn’t.
“It’s kind of a momentum game. Hitting is contagious and we were getting some hits but we just couldn’t string them together.”
After Fisher got a quick out following the hour rain delay, Bailey came back to the mound after a long break since his last throw. That didn’t seem to phase the ace. He gave up a pair of singles but nothing came around to score and Rock Ridge still led 6-2 after five.
“Blake pitched an absolutely amazing game,” Coombe said. “We played good defense behind him but Blake was the game changer today.
“You don’t want to come out flat after a rain delay and we didn’t. The kids came out and Blake just picked up where he left off. He was efficient and he was just in the zone today. It was an amazing day for him.”
Rock Ridge put up another run in the sixth and one final run in the seventh to put the final score at 8-2, extending their playoff run while ending top-seeded Hibbing’s. Seeing their season come to an end, Zubich had plenty of positives to say about his team and their effort.
“We have a good group of kids. They love to play. It’s unfortunate that the season had to come to an end because I think we were all enjoying it. It was a lot of fun with this group. They come to practice every day and work hard so you hate to see those 16-year-olds go.”
After falling to Rock Ridge on Saturday, Post 1221 did stave off elimination for some time, eliminating both South Ridge and Grand Rapids by 10-run rule. If anything, Zubich was happy to see his team’s bats come alive for a while.
“We played very well after taking that first loss and the bats got going against some pretty good pitching. We lost but then we 10-runned the next two teams. We wanted to keep that going but tip your hat to their pitcher. He kept us off balance all game.”
Keeping their season alive, the win sent Rock Ridge into a championship series with West Duluth. With one loss to their name, Post 1172 would need to win twice to claim the district championship.
“We gotta hit the ball against them,” Coombe said of West Duluth. “We have to hit the ball and play good defense. Hopefully we have pitchers that can throw strikes and we play defense behind them. If we’re doing that and having good at bats, it can be anyone’s game.”
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