PITSBURG – Franklin Monroe and National Trail couldn’t decide their Cross County Conference baseball game after the usual seven innings.
They played through 10 innings Tuesday evening, and neither side could break through to score the winning run. Mother Nature took control after the 10th, and the game was called because of darkness, leaving a 5-5 tie for the record book.
In the top of the first, National Trail hit the Jets with a two spot against starting pitcher Cade McGlinch. The Blazers used a single, three walks, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly to do the damage. McGlinch was able to strand two runners on base as he closed out the inning.
National Trail was able to score another run in the third. A leadoff double was wild pitched to third and then was sent home on another sacrifice fly. McGlinch was able to close out the frame without further damage.
Franklin Monroe had gone quietly through the first three chances against Trail starter Michael Bane, but in the fourth the Jets were able to break through. A RBI single by Hunter Rich opened the scoring for the Jets. A two-run single by Bryce Filbrun knotted the score at 3-3, and a Zach Hyre two-out, two-run double gave the home team a 5-3 advantage.
The game was in the hand of relievers from the fifth inning on. Both Billy Landman of National Trail and Jeremy Bridenbaugh of the Jets gave their teams an opportunity to win. Landman allowed no runs in his of 6 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts while Bridenbaugh surrendered just two runs over six innings.
The Blazers managed to tie the game at 5 in the seventh inning. They combined a walk, double and a single to produce their runs. Bridenbaugh stranded the go-ahead run on the base paths to end the inning.
In the top of the ninth FM second baseman Landon Peters made a game-saving play for the Jets. With runners on first and second and one out a ground ball was hit between first and second. It eluded the first baseman, and Peters caught the grounder. He quickly realized there was no one to cover first so he ran to the base and made a dive to tag the bag and got the out at first while the runners advanced.
“Landon made an unbelievable play,” FM head coach Eddie Meyers said. “He saw he was the only one to make the play, and he dove head first and made it.”
With the runners now on second and third with two out, the runner from third was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch thus ending the National Trail threat.
Bridenbaugh made one final stand for the Jets. The Blazers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 10th. He popped up the leadoff hitter for the second out and struck out the last batter he would face.
Franklin Monroe is now 1-0-1 on the young season.
