After further review, Gaels still state champs
Repeating as state champion is seldom simple.
But Bishop Gorman’s baseball team ran into unexpected difficulties Saturday afternoon at the Community College of Southern Nevada’s Morse Stadium.
Gorman scored what appeared to be the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, only to have the score taken off the board following a protest by Galena.
But that didn’t stop the Gaels. Gorman loaded the bases again in the bottom of the eighth, and Jeff Malm’s RBI single gave the Gaels a 4-3 victory and their second consecutive Class 4A state championship.
“Our motto all year has been, ‘It’s not going to be easy,’ ” Gorman coach Chris Sheff said. “And today was a perfect ending to ‘it’s not going to be easy.’
“But they just kept fighting, and we’re state champions again.”
The Gaels trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Scott Dysinger doubled, and Malm was intentionally walked.
Taylor Cole then lined a single to left field to score Dysinger with the tying run. After Brandon Garcia was intentionally walked to load the bases, John Rickard lined what appeared to be a game-winning single to left.
Malm crossed home plate, and Rickard was mobbed near first after touching the bag. But alert Galena coaches noticed Cole and Garcia never made it to their next bases, leaving the forceouts intact.
The Grizzlies, with ball in hand, tagged third, then second, arguing for an inning-ending double play. The umpires didn’t make a call and left the field, leaving Gorman celebrating an apparent victory.
But Galena protested, and after a 45-minute conference, a double play was ruled, and the game moved to the eighth inning.
“I think they made the right call, I really do,” Sheff said. “I was trying to yell to our guys to advance, and things were so loud I couldn’t get their attention.”
Malm, who rolled after allowing three runs in the top of the first, took the mound again and struck out the side in the eighth.
“I was just trying to throw strikes,” Malm said. “The adrenaline just took over, and I felt like that was my best inning. I felt like I was throwing the hardest and just pounding the strike zone.”
In the bottom of the inning, Paul Sewald led off with a walk. After a fielder’s choice, Johnny Field singled to put two runners on. One out later, Dysinger was hit by a pitch, and Malm delivered a soft line drive to left field to score Devin Flynn with the winning run.
This time, Gorman’s runners made sure they advanced to the next bases — and paused there for effect.
“I was staying there until they said it was fine, and the umpire finally told me I could leave,” Dysinger said.
Sheff said the players responded well to the protest and were ready to play when told they had to go to the eighth inning.
“I came over to talk to the club, and they seemed to have already regrouped,” Sheff said. “There was no speech that I had to give.
“They were already ready to take the field. In fact, they were out there before I even got the chance to talk to them.”
Dysinger said the long delay during the discussion made going back onto the field easier for the team.
“If it would have been right away, we would have been too emotional because of what had just happened,” Dysinger said. “So the little break was good.”
The Grizzlies took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Malm allowed a single and hit two batters to load the bases with two outs.
Basim Azzam then hit a fly ball to deep left field. Field, the left fielder, started in, then went back, but the ball sailed over his head for a bases-clearing double.
That was the only scoring until Gorman broke through in the sixth against Galena starter Tony Thompson, who had started and pitched three innings Thursday.
Malm led off with a double, and one out later Garcia singled. Rickard then singled up the middle to score Malm. One out later, freshman pinch hitter Neil Lawhorn lined a single to score Garcia and make the score 3-2.
“We knew that this guy had come off 75 pitches on Thursday, so we knew it would be very tough for him to throw a complete game,” Sheff said. “So we knew as we got later in the game, we’d have more opportunities. And then on top of it, we had runners on all game and just didn’t execute.
“But when it came time to get the big hit, we got some big hits.”
Malm allowed the three runs on five hits to get the win. He struck out nine and walked none.
Dysinger, one of three senior starters, said the state title was the perfect ending to his career.
“It’s amazing. Last year was unreal because it was the first time in the school’s history,” Dysinger said. “But winning back-to-back years and going out like this and winning, you can’t even describe it.”
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