With one pitch, the Ganado Indians went from one out away to winning the Regional-Semi finals, to facing extra inning, and then a deciding game. Ganado fought back the entire final game, but in the end, Danbury pulled out an 11-8 victory.
Ganado entered the series with their bats on fire, putting up 34 runs in their playoff games to that point. The hot bats continued in game one but it took a while.
Danbury opened the game by loading the bases but the Indians were able to escape still scoreless. In the second, Danbury did score one, and left two more on base, but the Indians bats came alive.
Callen Hajovsky drove in a run to give Ganado their first lead. Logan Bures followed with an RBI single, Cain Hayden hit a 2 RBI triple, and Jack Hurt followed with an RBI single.
After three Ganado had a 4-1 lead. They added three more to walk away with a 7-2 win.
Game two was a pitcher’s duel, with the Indians clinging to a 1-0 lead from the third inning until the seventh. In the seventh inning, Danbury loaded the bases and though Ganando was able to get the first two outs, a bases-loaded walk brought in the tying run.
In the eight, the Indians weren’t able to do anything and Danbury walked the game off.
In game three, both teams came out swinging and a slugfest ensued.
Danbury opened the game with two runs, but the Indians quickly answered, putting up three runs of their own Bryce Ullman brought in the first Indian run with a bases loaded walk, Austen Pena brought in a run with a single, and Luke Reid gave Ganado a lead with a sacrifice fly.
Danbury immediately answered back, putting up four more in the top of the second to take a 6-3 lead. From there the bats for both teams went silent with the Indians putting up the only run from the bottom of the second until the bottom of the seventh.
With three out remaining of their high school baseball days, the Indians decided they weren’t ready to go home yet.
Jack Hurt picked up a single and Hayden followed with an RBI triple to pull the Indians with-in one with only one out remaining.
And then Hayden stole home to tie the game, sending it to extra innings.
The top of the eighth is a terrible one for the Indians as the strain of three games-in-three-days has the bullpen armed strained, and it showed as Danbury scored five in the top of the eighth.
And yet again, the Indians fought back.
Tudyk pulled the Indians closer with a two run homer, and a single and a walk brought the tying run to the plate, but this time the Indians comeback fell short and Danbury took an 11-8 win to take the series.
Regional Semi-Finals Game one: Danbury 2 Ganado 7 Callen Hajovsky 2 hits, double, 1 RBI; Jack Hurt 2 hits, double, 1 RBI; Cain Hayden triple, 2 RBI’s; Logan Bures 1 hit, 2 steals; Ayden Tudyk 3.2 innings, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 4 strikeouts; Bryce Ullman 3.1 innings, 1 hit, 2 earned runs, 1 strikeout.
Game two: Ganado 1 Danbury 2 Hajovsky 2 hits; Hayden 1 double, 1 RBI; Luke Bures 1 hit; Ullman 1 steal; Hurt 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts; Reid 0.1 inning, 2 hits, 1 earned run.
Game three: Danbury Ganado Hayden 3 hits, double, triple, 1 RBI, 3 steals, 0.2 innings 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout; Hajovsky 3 hits, 2 steals; Austen Pena 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 steal; Tudyk 1 homerun, 2 RBI’s, 0.1 inning, 1 hit, 2 earned runs; Hurt 1 hit; Logan Bures 1 hit, 1 steal; Ullman 1 RBI, 0.0 innings, 0 hits, 2 earned runs; Luke Reid 1 RBI, 7 innings, 10 hits, 4 earned runs, 5 strikeouts;
