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District baseball: Steinbrenner 9, Plant 7

 
Published April 21, 2016

TAMPA — Steinbrenner's Bradley Hession wasted no time getting a jump on things in a district championship rubber match against Plant on Wednesday, blasting a ground-rule double to centerfield to give the Warriors an early advantage.

But deep down, Steinbrenner knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"When we got up 2-0 early in the first inning, our vibe is good, we're feeling great," pitcher Ryan Russell said. "But, I mean, we know coming out against Plant … we knew they were going to bounce back."

And the Panthers did just that. More than once.

As the game went on, there were a couple lead changes, and the score was tied on three separate occasions, including the seventh inning.

But if there's one thing the Warriors have learned to count on, its their ability to ride a late-game rally. This time, that came in the form of a Panther throwing error that brought two runs home in the seventh to give Steinbrenner a 9-7 victory and its second straight district championship.

"That's just us. I can't count on one hand the amount of times we've done that in this entire season," said Hession, who led the way at the plate with three RBI. "Late-inning heroics by numerous people. It's just what we do. We like to save the ball game."

Steinbrenner had some defensive woes early, and starting pitcher Patrick Morris — who came up with a big seventh-inning single later in the night — came out in the first inning after walking four straight batters, allowing Plant (17-8) to close the gap. Reliever Dave Crawford got two quick outs to get Steinbrenner out of the jam.

In the next frame, Crawford gave up four straight hits, including a two-run double to Connor Scott and an RBI single to Mike Pelaez, and the Panthers took their first lead of the night.

A Hession sac fly and RBI single from Drew Burkhart tied the score in third inning. Plant — which had a good night at the plate, scoring seven runs on 10 hits — jumped ahead once more, scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth and a Steinbrenner (22-5) error in the sixth to make it 6-4.

But in the sixth inning, the Warriors had an answer, putting up three runs on RBI singles from CJ Van Eyk and Garrett Raeckers, and a Plant throwing error at home plate.

Plant made a game of it one last time, tying the score at seven on a wild pitch from Russell, who pitched two innings of relief and earned the win for the Warriors. But it was the Panthers' own miscue in the top of the next frame that gave Steinbrenner the ultimate edge.

"We did our share of little things wrong, that we have to continue to work on," Steinbrenner coach John Crumbley said. "But we did a lot of little things right. So that was huge."