BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity baseball team continued its improbable run at perfection this week with three wins to improve to 13-0, but it was far from easy.
What was fairly easy was the Seahawks’ 12-3 win over visiting Crisfield on Monday, capped off by a grand slam by Gus Esham, but Decatur had to battle through the other two wins last week in a couple of their toughest tests of the season. Decatur beat North Caroline, 5-4, with a walk-off last Thursday in extra innings, then played a marathon 14-inning game against Easton last Saturday.
With the scored tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth last Thursday against North Caroline at home, the Seahawks got runners on the corners with one out. Jake Shockley then laced a single, scoring the winning run from third as dusk settled on the field.
On Saturday, the Seahawks traveled to Easton for a make-up game and it essentially turned into two games with a 14-inning classic. Lane Dillon led off the Decatur first with a walk and eventually came home on a double by Tristan McDonough. Easton answered in the bottom of the first with a run of their own to tie the game at 1-1, which is how it would remain for a remarkable 13 more innings.
Both sides had scoring opportunities throughout the game, but neither could push another run across. Bailey Littleton started for Decatur and pitched two innings, giving up just the one run in the first. McDonough took over and pitched seventh scoreless innings, battling out of tight jams throughout. Will Sass came on in the eighth and pitched lights out, striking out seven over five scoreless innings.
In the top of the 14th, again it was Dillon leading off with a walk. Dillon went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Zach Adams then hit a sharp grounder to short that was mishandled. When the ball squirted into shallow left field, Dillon raced home from second with the winning run. Sass pitched a scoreless bottom of the 14th and the Seahawks outlasted the Warriors in the marathon to improve to 12-0.
On Monday, after two one-run games including the walk-off against North Caroline and the dramatic 2-1 win over Easton in 14, the Seahawks left nothing to chance against the visiting Crabbers. Already ahead 3-0 after two innings, Decatur scored on a single by McDonough in the third to make it 4-0. After a single and a walk loaded the bases, Esham crushed the Crisfield pitcher’s first offering high over the left field fence to clear the bases with a grand slam, extending the Decatur lead to 8-0.
The Seahawks continued to add to their lead through the middle innings and eventually rolled to the 12-3 win to improve to 13-0. The Seahawks face a couple of tough Bayside South opponents that could challenge their perfect record. Decatur played Parkside yesterday in a game played too late to be included in this edition. The Seahawks face always-tough Bennett on the road next Tuesday. Decatur beat the Clippers, 8-6, back on March 31.