It's amazing how one play can change a baseball game. The goat becomes the hero. And the Reno High baseball team is one win away from winning the NIAA 4A state title.
One play after making an error that loaded the based with no outs, third baseman Jake Johnson literally caught a line drive right off the dirt and turned it into a triple play. The play gave the Huskies the momentum and Reno went on to beat Cimarron-Memorial 13-7 on Friday at Ron McNutt Field.
Other heros for Reno were John Wallace and Ryan Simpson. Wallace was the winning pitcher in relief and also belted a two-run home run that effectively put the game away while Simpson had five RBI.
Reno advanced to today's championship round when it will play Cimarron at 10 a.m. If the Huskies win, they're state champions. Cimarron must win to force another game for the title to be played at 1 p.m.
The miserable conditions in which it was brutally cold due to a howling wind - typical baseball weather for Northern Nevada - also appeared to favor Reno against the Las Vegas team. Cimarron appeared to be bothered by the weather when it committed three errors during a four-run rally in the fifth inning that gave Reno a 10-7 lead.
But Reno also faltered on defense, committing two errors that helped Cimarron load the bases with no outs in the sixth. The second error was committed when Johnson booted a groundball.
But then Joel Reese hit a line shot at Johnson. There was some question if Johnson actually caught the ball because he was able to place his glove underneath it. But he was able to make a backhanded catch, touch third and then throw to second to complete the triple play.
"Yeah I caught it, thank God," Johnson said. "The baseball Gods looked down on me on that one. It felt great. I can't let my team down."
Johnson said he also had to make the play so Wallace's performance wouldn't be wasted. "He did a great job coming in in a clutch situation and shutting their bats down," Johnson said. "He had a great day."
"He definitely made the catch," Wallace said. "That was a great play to pick himself up. That was definitely a momentum builder."
Cimarron got to Chris Rickey in the first, taking a 4-0 lead with Shaun Standart hitting a three-run home run to make it 4-0. But Reno fought back in the bottom of the first when Simpson belted a three-run shot that made it 4-3. In the third, Reno took a 6-5 lead on Steve Mays' RBI double and Simpson's two-run single.
Cimarron chased Rickey in the fifth on RBI doubles by Josh Felker and Shaun Standert to take a 7-6 lead. But Wallace came in to shut the door.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Reno used three errors to take a 10-7 lead. Michael Hellen's two-run double made it 10-7. Reno scored three more runs in the sixth on Wallace's two-run shot and Mays' RBI double.
Wallace admitted the weather may have been an advantage to Reno and also admitted he was almost blown over by the wind while he was on the mound.
"I think it was probably an advantage," he said. "They're not used to the cold, probably not used to the win."
SILVERADO 7, REED 2
Silverado eliminated Reed when it scored four runs in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie. Chad Robinson was the hero for Silverado. He pitched a complete game for the win and his two-run home run gave Silverado a 4-2 lead in the fifth.
Jake McGee doubled and scored to give Reed a 1-0 lead in the first. But in the bottom of the first, Silverado took a 2-1 lead with Robinson's RBI single making it 2-1. Reed also loaded the bases twice in the game without scoring.
Reed loaded the bases in the second, but failed to score when McGee lined out to center to end the inning. The Raiders loaded the bases again in the fifth, but Ryan Hill was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch to end the inning.
CIMARRON 5, SILVERADO 3
Dustin Baxter went the distance for the win as Cimarron eliminated Silverado. Brandon Trodick went 3-for-4 with two RBI, Matt Schmidt was 3-for-3 and Jordan Muir and Reece each belted RBI doubles for Cimarron. Kevin Rath hit a two-run home run and Rance Roundy went 2-for-4 for Silverado.
Contact Charles Whisnand at cwhisnand@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1214.
