Liberty baseball coach Travis Inch absolutely refused to share his fourth county title — especially with Century.
With Inch’s Lions trailing the Knights 7-4 after five innings Wednesday, it appeared that Century would get the win it needed and the archrivals would in fact share this year’s county title. However, a six-run sixth inning canceled all of that talk as the Lions erased another late deficit for a county title-clinching 10-9 win.
“We wanted this all to ourselves,” Nate Martin said. “We’ve had to be co-champs a couple times and we just weren’t having that today.”
In the top of the sixth down three runs, the Lions finally struck. Rocco Dietz’s RBI single cut into the lead. Dietz then showed out on the base paths, scoring all the way from first as he took advantage of a Chase Speiden error on a Carter Shanks hit. Dietz was one of three Lions to score on what proved to be a very costly error.
Dietz’s versatility played a critical role in the win. After starting the game on the mound and pitching three scoreless innings, Dietz spent time in center field and first base —all while having a multi-hit day, driving in a run and hustling on the base paths.
“I just do what helps us win,” he said. “At the plate coach was telling me to get that front foot down and send the ball back up the middle, and I did just that.”
The Lions weren’t done with the comeback; they still needed one final blow to close the door on their archrival and seal the deal on another county championship.
The person in the perfect spot to do so: Martin.
Martin hit his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to punctuate the big inning. It didn’t just put the nail in the coffin in the game, but took all the energy and confidence away from the Century bench.
“I’m always looking for a pitch I can hit hard,” Martin said. “I have an idea in my mind of what I want to do when I step in the box.”
Martin went 2-for-4 with two home runs on the day. With Martin’s bat, Dietz’s Swiss army knife ability and a couple of key pinch hitters, the Lions turned to Michael Martin and Braeden Cubb to take the mound in relief. Each ended up giving up runs, but ultimately rebounded and held down the win.
“It was a total team win,” Inch said, “We had some guys come though in some key spots and that says a lot about our program.”
Martin got the scoring started with his first home run, a solo shot in the third inning, adding to the impressive number of powerful blasts the senior is known for sending back at opposing pitchers that make mistakes to him.
“Every ball he hits has a possibility of getting smoked,” Inch said. “And it’s not just about that, he’s a great player because he plays harder than anybody.”
The Knights were relentless as they looked for a win and half of the county title. Ryan Matthews and Mason Hendricks each put the ball in play with some solid contact. Some key hits and a Liberty error later, and it was the Knights that found themselves up after a four-run third inning, which was followed by a Ben Welsh solo shot in the bottom of the fourth.
Four batters later, Dominic Crisp’s two-RBI double put the Lions’ outright county title in jeopardy as in the blink of an eye, Liberty found itself down 7-4.
“When I was sitting in the dugout as we found ourselves down three, I told them we were OK,” Inch said. “The game can change in the blink of an eye, especially at this field.”
With step one complete, the Lions look to ride that momentum to what they hope is another regional title and eventually another shot at the state semifinals, where their season has ended in each of the past two seasons. Inch, Martin and anyone that has seen this Liberty team play feels they have all the pieces necessary to make another deep run.
“We’re well coached, we’ve got guys that will do anything to win,” Martin said. “We’re all on the same page, just one great team grinding through the season.”
Liberty — 004 006 0— 10 12 3
Century — 004 301 1 — 9 10 3
WP: Michael Martin (L) . LP: Ryan Matthews (C) SV: Braeden Chubb (L)
2B: L – Logan Garey, Parker Allan; C – Chase Speiden, Dominic Crisp. HR: L – Nate Martin (2) ; C- Ben Welsh