Down a run to No. 11 Frederick Douglass in their final at-bat, the Sayre Spartans didn’t just make a comeback. They made history.
Aided by a pair of walks, clutch singles from Charlie Slabaugh and Grady Johnson and a bases-loaded dribbler to third by Graham Johnson that pushed across the go-ahead run, Sayre rallied for a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning and went on to win the program’s first ever 42nd District baseball championship Monday on its home field.
“We all believed we were going to still win this game. Everyone was giving each other high-fives saying ‘we’re not out, we’re not out,” said winning pitcher Addison Stockham, a sophomore who struck out the final two Douglass batters in the bottom of the seventh inning to seal the complete game victory. “We just had great team at-bats. We didn’t chase any balls out of the zone and just stayed disciplined.”
The win came on Memorial Day on a field named for Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Comley, a Sayre baseball player and alumnus who died in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2005. The field was dedicated in his honor in 2007 when it was opened at Sayre Athletic Complex.
“We talk about Chase a lot — what he meant to the country and what he meant to the school,” Sayre Coach Kevin Clary said. “There’s no pressure in what we do. There’s pressure in what he was doing every single day. It was a great thing to be able to honor him today.”
“It’s really something special,” Stockham said.
Sayre split its regular-season series with Frederick Douglass, ranked in the top 25 by Prep Baseball Report heading into the postseason and boasting a number of Division I recruits, including Kentucky commit Julius Scearce and Louisville commit Thomas Howard. Douglass came in as the district’s No. 1 seed and played as the home team in the championship.
Scearce tripled to open the second inning and later scored on a single by Leighton Harris to tie the game at 1.
Scearce also played a role in Douglass’s rally from a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on first and second after a walk and a Trey Brown single, Sayre first baseman Raymond Saatman tried to turn a double play on Searce’s grounder to him, but his throw to second sailed beyond the shortstop and into left field, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score for a 3-2 Broncos lead.
Sayre got its first run following a leadoff triple by Graham Johnson. Johnson scored as the Broncos turned a double play in the second inning. In the fourth inning, Sayre took a 2-1 lead as Stockham singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Josh Richards’ double.
Despite suffering a strikeout in the sixth that could have stifled their momentum, the Spartans loaded the bases against Douglass reliever Harris. Even so, Douglass looked as if it might escape unscathed.
Second baseman Ty Bryant made a spectacular diving stab to keep Grady Johnson’s shot up the middle in the infield, but Bryant couldn’t connect with the shortstop for a putout at second much less what would have been a dazzling double play, and Charlie Scoggin scored the tying run to the delight of the Spartans bench and fans. Slabaugh then broke to the plate on contact when Graham Johnson hit a slow bouncer to third, scoring the go-ahead run on the second out of the inning.
“It was such a great team win,” Stockham said. “I pitched, but, really, my team made all the plays behind me. They came up big in the top of the seventh.”
Both Sayre and Douglass will advance to this weekend’s 11th Region Tournament at Lexington Catholic where they will square off against the winners and runners-up from the 41st, 43rd and 44th Districts. The drawing for the region bracket is scheduled Wednesday.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Clary said of what the school’s first district title means for Sayre. “We’re trying to create a legacy, and we try to do things the right way every single day. We have high expectations and we hold them accountable. I’m just super proud.”
42nd District softball semifinals
Frederick Douglass 8, Bryan Station 4: The tournament host Broncos (17-14) rallied from a 3-2 deficit thanks to a big fifth inning capped by a two-run homer by Alyssa Wade.
Wade’s blast scored Kayleigh Bell who got on base with an RBI single. Douglass tied the game and took the lead earlier in the inning thanks to a walk, an error and a couple of wild pitches that plated runs.
Douglass pitcher Rachael Harris pitched seven innings for the victory and hit a home run herself to score the game’s first run in the first inning.
Trinity Campbell scored two runs to lead Bryan Station. Maya Meads, Sydney Webster and Kierstyn Kelley each had an RBI for the Defenders (16-13).
Scott County 11, Henry Clay 1 (5 innings): The Cardinals (14-17) scored six runs in the first and four in the second with Kaylie Wise credited with four RBI on a pair of hits to lead the team. Lexie Roby went 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot and scored a pair of runs with an RBI.
Scott County will face host Douglass at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the 42nd District championship. Both the Cards and Broncos will advance to this weekend’s 11th Region Tournament.
Baseball notes
▪ Sayre sophomore ace Raymond Saatman (5-4) pitched for the Spartans in their come-from-behind win Sunday over Scott County in the district’s other semifinal. He struck out nine. Saatman also ranks as one of Sayre’s best hitters and went 3-for-4, including a two-run triple in the sixth inning that helped Sayre turn a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 victory.
▪ All-tournament team: Layne Jones, Quinten Webster, Bryan Station; Parker Henderson, Clay Momeyer, Henry Clay; Zane Patton, Chase Grigsby, Scott County; Gavin Faulkner, Thomas Howard, Ty Bryant, Douglass; Raymond Saatman, Addison Stockham, Graham Johnson and Grady Johnson, Sayre.