Senior first baseman Sam Fullenkamp, a hitter head coach Tyler Eaton calls “the clutch guy,” came to bat with a long history of important hits. But he’d never won the game with the final swing. This time, however, Fullenkamp sneaked a single into right field to send Jace Wood home from second base for a 2-1 victory.
“It definitely felt like a bigger situation, but I’ve been to the up to bat thousands of times,” Fullenkamp said. “I knew what I had to do and got the job done. Obviously there’s nerves there but nothing too big.”
The hit was Fullenkamp’s first and Brookville’s sixth of the game. In his first three at-bats he put the ball in play and twice advanced baserunners.
“He handles the bat well, so I knew at a minimum he was going to get him over,” Eaton said. “And once you put the ball in play anything can happen.”
As a result the Blue Devils (19-9) will play Carlisle, a team they beat by one run twice in Southwestern Buckeye League play, in a district final Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Newton High School.
To set up Fullenkamp, Wood singled to open the inning against Greeneview left-handed ace Keegan Phillips, who navigated six hits and four walks without a strikeout. Then Lane Willoughby’s sacrifice bunt moved Wood to second base.
“Whether we’re down going into the bottom of the seventh or whether we’re tied, there’s never a doubt with us,” Fullenkamp said. “This is a team that never gives up”
Both teams scored in the third inning. A walk and sacrifice bunt set up Andy Burkett to line a single to left and score Nick Hassid for a 1-0 Greeneview lead. Then Brookville third baseman Hunter Gray started an inning-ending double play.
Brookville responded when Willoughby singled, the ball was misplayed in the outfield for an error, and Wood scored.
From there the mound duel continued between Phillips and Willoughby, who allowed four hits, one walk and struck out two.
“Mainly my changeup was working,” Willoughby said. “I didn’t have the exact feel that I wanted with my fastball. Love being out here with the boys. Getting wins like this is always exciting.”
Last year as a sophomore Willoughby pitched in relief. This year as a starter he entered Monday’s game with a 1.11 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings.
“This year he grabbed the baseball from day one,” Eaton said. “And has looked like that almost every single time he’s been out there.”
Greeneview (19-8) had a chance to get the lead in the sixth when Phillips hit a leadoff double. But Willoughby induced two groundouts and a flyout to end the threat.
“The game kind of hinged in that sixth inning when we had an opportunity early, and I think had we cashed in right there that game goes a different direction,” Greeneview coach John Brooks said. “They got out of it without letting us score partially because of a lack of execution on our part, but also because they just play good baseball.”
The Rams won 26 games last year before losing in the region final. Brooks had to find a lot of new starters but his expectations for what the Rams could accomplish were not diminished.
“I thought this team could go just as far as last year or even further really,” he said. “The reality is this was a coin flip game. So they were definitely good enough to be able to move on to the next level.”
The Rams won six straight before dropping their regular season finale. Then they won two tournament games.
“Early on they had to try and figure themselves out and get a little bit battle tested,” Brooks said. “In the last couple of weeks they’ve been really fun to watch. The last week we did play our best baseball, so I’m very proud of their season.”
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