James River wins region baseball title with come-from-behind victory

They believed.

Even as they suffered through a nightmarish first inning in the Region 5C championship baseball game Friday night, the James River Rapids believed.

Even later as they struggled to overcome their mistakes, claw pitch by pitch into contention, and somehow, someway sway the momentum in their favor, Coach Pete Schumacher’s guys believed without reservation that they possessed the right stuff to climb from the abyss, take down visiting Glen Allen, and claim their second consecutive regional title. 

Their 13-11 come-from-far-behind victory before an overflow crowd at the Dave Cottrell Field was validation of their ability to turn their abiding belief into resilience-driven action.

“We’re not the kind of team that’s ever out of it,” Schumacher said amidst the joyous, post-game celebration. “We’ve been preaching that all year long, and they’ve bought in.

“They’ve never really given up, and after the first inning, we huddled them together and said, ‘Look, we’re going to chip away. Have confidence. You guys know you can do this.’ And they did.”

The Jaguars (15-6) scored six runs in the top of the first and appeared on the fast track to a mercy-rule blowout.

After starting pitcher Nolan Anthony hit the first two batters (Cooper McPherson and Daniel Nienaber), Colby Seay singled to score McPherson, and Caleb Whitehead doubled to score Nienaber and Seay, then advanced to third on the unsuccessful throw to the plate.

Alex Awad followed with a bunt single scoring Whitehead.

At that point Matt Schumacher relieved Anthony, who remained in the game, fortuitously so, as the Rapids’ designated hitter.

Awad ultimately scored on Owen Holsomback’s fielder’s choice, and Levi Jones, who singled, scored on Colin Whidbee’s sacrifice bunt.

All told, Glen Allen scored its six runs on four hits, three hit batsmen, and three stolen bases, and the Rapids (19-3) were beginning their long, arduous journey back.

After entering in the toughest of situations, Schumacher held the Jaguars at bay through five innings. The sophomore righthander allowed one run and five hits and threw 51 of his 73 pitches for strikes.

“My whole mindset was to get my team back in the game,” he said. “Give us a fighting chance. I tried to dominate one pitch at a time, slow myself down, and slow the game down for my teammates.

“I had no doubt in our chances, even after the first inning. I had zero doubt that they’d rally behind me and pick me up.”

Thanks to two runs in the second (Conner Sprouse and Matthew Baggett) and two more in the fourth (Baggett and Jake Schumacher), the Rapids cut their deficit to 6-4.

They took firm control with six runs in the fifth.

Brian Consuegra (courtesy runner for Alex Adams, who singled) scored on a wild pitch to trim Glen Allen’s advantage to 6-5.

Ultimately, Anthony came to the plate with Alex Kish (pinch runner for Sprouse) on third, Jake Schumacher (walk) on second, and Owen Wears (hit by pitch) on first.

With one powerful swing of the bat, the 6-5 junior cleared the bases with a grand slam home run into the woods behind the rightfield wall to the unmitigated delight of the Rapids’ faithful.

“I couldn’t be more proud of Nolan,” said Matt Schumacher, who picked up the win. “It says something about him to battle through adversity like he did. To give up six runs in the first and not let it affect him as a hitter is unbelievable.”

After the emotion generated by Anthony’s stunner began to subside, Eli Hulette laced a standup double to center field and ultimately scored from third when Sprouse was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Rapids were rolling and rallied for three more runs (scored by Wears, Landon Smith, and Hulette) in the sixth to go up 13-6.

“We just trusted one another and picked each other up,” said Hulette, a junior second baseman. “Honestly, it comes from the bench. They kept the energy up the entire game. 

“Once we scored in the second inning, we knew we could do this.”

Though down and reeling, the Jaguars had enough fuel in their tank to score five times in the top of the seventh to turn the blowout into a cliffhanger.

“That’s the one positive we can take from what happened tonight: we fought back in the last inning,” said Glen Allen coach Dave Savino, whose team travels to Riverbend, the Region 5D champion, on Tuesday for the Class 5 quarterfinals. “We just have to flush this. This kind of game happens. It’s baseball. We have to get back after it on Monday.”

The Jaguars quickly loaded the bases in visitors’ half of the seventh.

Whidbee’s single scored Jones, and McPherson’s grand slam to left scored Henry, Holsomback, and Whidbee. 

With two outs, Seay doubled to right and moved to third on Whitehead’s single to right.

With the tying runs on base and the go-ahead run at the plate, Nate Reed, the Rapids’ fourth pitcher, forced a ground ball which resulted in a short (Grant) to second (Hulette) put-out that brought the game to conclusion.

“Credit Glen Allen,” said Schumacher, the coach, whose team hosts Region 5D runner-up Riverbend in the state quarterfinals Tuesday. “It’s one thing to put up six to start the game. It’s another to put up five in the last inning when you’re down and all the momentum has shifted.”

That said…

“Honestly, this is how we’ve responded all season long,” he added, referencing his team’s resilience and resolve when faced with challenges. “There’ve been a couple of times when we’ve been down like that or had an inning with crooked numbers.

“These guys have always responded.”