T-Town trailed 5-0 at one time and was still down 5-3 as it came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Saturday it was Henry Thompson’s lead-off triple that ignited the game-winning rally. Wednesday it was Davin Worman, who was hit by the first pitch.
That was the spark needed.
Mick Niebrugge followed with a long drive that looked like it might leave Itchy Jones Stadium for a game-tying home run. It bounced off the wall, however, for an RBI double that trimmed the deficit to one.
As was the case in the sectional final, some miscues by the opponent also aided this comeback. Jason Kreke followed with a fly ball that was dropped by the centerfielder, putting runners at first and third.
That’s when Coach Justin Fleener decided to go to his bench and called up Pals to pinch hit.
The sophomore reserve had batted only twice in the entire season – coaxing a walk and grounding into a double play.
“Batting practice at-bats are important,” Fleener said. “Teagan had some good at-bats during practice so I decided to give it a whirl.”
“I was really nervous,” Pals admitted. “I didn’t even know what bat to use.”
He obviously chose the right one.
“You always have to be ready,” Pals explained. “I was looking for a fastball. When I hit it, I was pretty sure it was going to the gap. It felt amazing. I was glad I could do this for the team, but I never dreamed anything like this would happen.”
“Teagan had no notice,” teammate Austin Borries added. “Then he came up with the biggest hit of his life. It was the best clutch hit I’ve ever seen.”
And when Kreke slid across the plate with the game-winning run, the dugout erupted into a wild celebration on the field. The Shoes were headed to the state tournament.
“Never give up on the Shoes,” Pals said. “We always believe we have a chance.”
But early on, things didn’t look good.
The Indians scored two runs in the fourth and added three more in the fifth to build the 5-0 lead. Four of the five runs were unearned.
In the fourth, Noah Siefert singled and went to third on a double by Jayden Anders. With two outs, a ground ball resulted in a throwing error, allowing both runners to score.
In the fifth, Cy Craft led off with a double and went to third on a base hit by Jaden DeMarie, who then stole second. With one out, Luke Bauman laid down a squeeze bunt that brought in Craft. But the throw home got past the catcher, allowing DeMarie to also race home, while Bauman scooted all the way around to third base. Bauman then scored on a wild pitch.
“At that point, it would have been easy for the guys to think maybe all their luck had run out Saturday,” Fleener noted. “But they didn’t do that. They kept battling.”
The comeback started the bottom of the fifth. Gavin Addis walked, Aidan Niemerg blooped a single to left and when Dawson Hoene’s flyball was lost in the lights and dropped untouched, the bases were loaded with no outs. The first run scored when Worman grounded into a fielder’s choice. Niebrugge then laced an RBI single to left.
With runners at first and third, Kreke hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who threw to second for a force out. But the throw to first was off-target and rolled to the fence, allowing Worman to race home and trim the lead to 5-3.
“Those were big runs,” Fleener said. “They proved to be the spark we needed. That gave us something to build on.”
Another factor in the victory was the relief performance of Addis, who came on in relief of Niemerg with two outs in the fourth and a runner in scoring position. He recorded a strikeout to end that threat.
The junior righthander did give up three runs in the fifth, although two of those were unearned. But he then set down the final two batters in the fifth and six of the final seven batters he faced, including six by strikeout.
“Gavin came in and kept the game in check,” Fleener noted. “At times, he was dominating on the mound. He really came through for us.”
“I knew I had to keep putting zeros on the board,” Addis added. “We made some miscues, but we just needed to stick to it and follow the game plan.”
The junior righthander used just two pitches – fastball and breaking ball, which he said is like a “sweeper.”
“I was pleased with how my stuff was working,” Addis said. “I had confidence in my breaking ball. It was my best pitch tonight.”
Niemerg went the first 3.2 innings, allowing four hits and a pair of unearned runs. He walked one and struck out two. Addis pitched the final 3.1 innings and got the win. He gave up only two hits, while walking one and striking out seven.
One bit of potentially bad news for the Shoes occurred in the second inning. After Borries led off with a double, he tried to steal third base. It appeared he injured his knee when sliding into third base, but he said that was not the case.
“As soon as I took off, I felt something pop,” Borries explained. “I was able to get to the third base bag, but I was in horrible pain.”
He tried to continue, but was taken out of the game an inning later.
“I couldn’t bend my knee,” he said. “I had no movement.”
His availability Friday is unknown at this time.
The Wooden Shoes will be returning to the state tournament for the first time since 2019, but will be making their 10th trip to the state tournament in Coach Fleener’s 24-year career.
“Any opportunity to go state is amazing,” Fleener said. “It never gets old, no matter how often you get there. Every group is different. This is another great group of young men and I’m happy to be able to be a part of it.”
In Friday’s first Class 2A semifinal, Eureka (34-3) will play Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin (24-8-1) at 4 p.m.
The third place game will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday, followed by the championship at 7 p.m.
And what can be expected by this totally unpredictable team?
“It’s Wooden Shoes magic,” Borries said. “This team will never give up.”
