FARGO - It was all over for Omaha West in its elimination game versus Carroll County in the American Legion Central Plains Regional baseball tournament Sunday at Jack Williams Stadium.
Omaha West was down four runs, it was the bottom of the ninth and it had only managed three hits the entire game. Then, the bats woke up. Five consecutive hits followed by three consecutive hitters getting hit by pitches and Omaha West scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to top Carroll County 6-5 and head to the championship of the tournament today.
Even Jake Meyers couldn't believe it as the pitch came at him. After getting hit by it to plate the winning run, Meyers looked around, as if trying to find an answer to whether or not he had actually been hit. He didn't need to pinch himself because he'll have a bruise to prove it.
"I was thinking, 'no way,'" Meyers said when asked what was going through his mind as the pitch came at him. "I was looking to hit it to the outfield. Getting hit did not pop in my mind. I got hit, looked back and was like, 'no way.'"
Omaha West (44-12) had three hits the entire game headed into the ninth. After tying the game thanks to two Carroll County (17-6) errors in the bottom of the sixth, Omaha West had the momentum immediately taken away the next inning when Carroll County plated four runs ¬- three of which came with two outs - to seemingly take the game.
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"We hadn't been hitting the ball all game," Meyers said. "It just took that one hit and it's contagious for us. We feel like we can win it all. The odds have always been against us."
Three straight singles from Drew Fitzmorris, Mike Waldron and Matt Waldron loaded the bases to start the bottom of the ninth. Mitch Hagan's double cut the Carroll County lead to 5-3 and Will Frei's single made it 5-4 with men on the corners and no outs. Three of the next four pitches found the bodies of Omaha West players. Luke Biggs and Brady Novak were hit on consecutive pitches to tie the game and after a pitch way out of the zone, Meyers took his bruise for the win.
"We told them that we were only four down," Omaha West coach Bob Greco said. "They believed they were going to come back and that's where it started. You have to believe you're going to come back. It isn't just going to happen. We didn't have any regrets. We're leaving it all on the field."
CC 001 000 400-5 16 3
OW 000 001 005-6 8 3
Nelson, McAllister (9) and McAllister and Nelson (9). Biggs, Nemecek (7), Frei (9) and Frei and Novak (9). W-Frei. L-McAllister.
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Chris Murphy at (701) 241-5548
