SMITHSBURG, Md. – In reality, Gavin Remarge never thought he’d be in this situation.
Just a few innings earlier, the Smithsburg baseball team had a 10-3 lead. It would have been easy to slip into cruise control or slap the snooze button.
But about an hour later, he found himself standing in the batter’s box with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning … in a 12-12 tie with South Hagerstown.
“I was shocked,” Remarge said. “I thought we had it. I thought Mason (Oates) or George (Mantz) was going to do, but I really wanted to do it.”
Remarge got his shot. He didn’t exactly hit the “Shot Heard Around the World,” but it echoed enough around Smithsburg to collect a victory.
Remarge smacked the ball up the middle, off South relief pitcher Cam Kelley, to score Chase Sarber from third to give Smithsburg a topsy-turvy 13-12 victory.
“I’m always ready for that,” Remarge said.
Both he and the Leopards had to be.
South was down seven runs after Smithsburg’s five-run fourth inning, fueled by Heath Githens’ two run homer.
But the Rebels found their version of a red alert by scoring twice in the fifth on a two-run homer by Derek Kline, giving him three home runs and all five South RBIs to that point, to make it 10-5.
Smithsburg padded its lead in the bottom of the fifth when Jaxon Teson drew a leadoff walk and stole second before scoring on Oates fielder’s choice that was coupled with a Rebels’ error.
South countered by unleashing a seven-run sixth to take a 12-11 lead, capped by Braydon Ocasio’s two-run single and a three-run homer by Kelley.
Things seemed dire for the Leopard, but it wasn’t time to panic.
“This is an older young group,” said Smithsburg coach Patrick Moore. “There are a lot of juniors on the team with a lot of game experience. They focus really well. They know what to do in the situation.”
The situation called “Comeback Mode.”
Smithsburg tied the game immediately in the sixth when Eli Bowman led off with a single, stole second, took third on Collin Burres’ sacrifice bunt before scoring on a passed ball.
Mantz became Smithsburg’s third pitcher, relieving Burras, in the seventh and shut down South on the strength of two strikeouts.
The Leopards took care of business in the bottom of the seventh. Chase Sarber off Kelley to open the inning and moved up on two wild pitches. After Oates lined to short and Mantz walked, Remerge ended the game.
The Leopards were led by Mantz and Githens with two hits, including homers, each. Mantz drove in three runs and Githens plated two. Bowman and Teson also had two hits for Smithsburg.
Kline topped the Rebels with his three homers, while Kelley chipped in with two hits, including his three-run homer. Higgins had two hits and Rosario drove in two runs.
“After all of that, it took a 55-foot chopper to win the game,” Moore said.
