There were three outs standing between Bridgeport High School and the end of the baseball season. Of course, the optimists could say there were three outs standing between the Indians and a chance to advance to the Class AA Region II final this evening.

 

The optimists, in this case, won out. On Tuesday, Bridgeport’s baseball team not only erased a one-run deficit in the top of the seventh inning, but managed to score a total of five and turn a 6-5 disadvantage into a 10-6 win over Grafton.

 

Now, the Indians will face Frankfort for the regional title. Game time tonight at BHS is 6 p.m.

 

“I hope we can take away something positive from that even though you don’t ever want to be in that type of situation with your season on the line,” said BHS Coach Robert Shields. “Let’s face it, we haven’t played behind that much this year and definitely not with so much on the line. To see the kids battle and fight made me proud.”

 

The breaks and eventually the game would go Bridgeport’s way. Senior Elijah Drummond started things off with a rope that was misplayed by Grafton in the outfield and he ended up on second base to start what would be Bridgeport’s last at-bat in the top of the seventh. Drummond then moved to third on a second error and then scored a short time later on a Joseph Dodrill sacrifice fly to tie it up.

 

Ross Marra, who had a huge game with four RBIs, then plated what would be the go-ahead and winning run by reaching via an error on a fielder’s choice. And suddenly, the momentum was all BHS.

 

“Sometimes you feel momentum and when Elijah roped that ball to the outfield it just opened everything up. Joe Dodrill’s sacrifice fly that tied it suddenly got everyone relaxed at the plate and it kept going,” said Shields.

 

Indeed it did. Tanner Furbee drove in the next run with a double and J.T. Harris capped the five-run outburst with a two-run home run to left field.

 

Unfortunately for Grafton, it had to face Tanner Furbee in the bottom of the seventh and the hosts had not answer for him. Furbee, who had come on in relief earlier, picked up the win by going four and two-third innings. He did not allow a run, yielded four hits and a walk, and struck out six.

 

“Tanner came up big for us. He handled the pitching we needed and outside of an error in the first inning, we were solid defensively,” said Shields. “We just nearly waited too long to get the offense we needed. Fortunately, we decided to fight until the end.”

 

That fight now has the Indians one game away from going back to Charleston next week for the state tournament. The Indians, 27-6, will face a Frankfort team that has many of the same faces that were in place when the two teams met in the panhandle in last year’s regional final.

 

“They’re a young and dangerous team. They’ve got four seniors, but they’ve got a lot of experienced kids who have played a lot,” said Shields. “The good news is that we’re at home and there’s no better place to be right now than at home.

 

“These kids know where the next step takes them; and that’s where they’ve wanted to be all year,” he continued. “We’re down to eight teams in Class AA and we want to make the move to be among the last four.”

 

The Indians are the two-time defending champions. They will look to get back to Charleston to defend by starting either Brine Takahashi or Gordon Swiger. Hunter Haddix, who started Tuesday, also has innings available if needed in relief.

 

Editor's Note: J.T. Harris is mobbed by teammates after his two-run home run in the seventh inning, while assistant Coach Pete Iquinto has no problem showing his concern with an umpire in the middle photo. Bottom pictures shows Tanner Furbee in control on the mound for the Indians. Photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.