DIVISION I BASEBALL: Gaels avoid second game, rally for title

Trailing by four runs entering the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday, Bishop Gorman was staring an winner-take-all second game in the face in the Division I state baseball tournament.

Seniors Austin Cram and Cadyn Grenier made sure that wasn’t necessary.

Cram hit a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 5 in the seventh, and Grenier led off the bottom of the ninth with a homer to give the Gaels a 6-5 win over Green Valley for the title at Durango.

“This team is never out,” Grenier said. “And we showed it again today. We were down by four in the last inning and once again came back and did exactly what we had to do.”

Green Valley, which lost to Arbor View earlier in the double-elimination tournament, rolled into the seventh with a 5-1 lead with sophomore Frankie Fitzgerald throwing a gem. The team’s closer all season, Fitzgerald was making his first start and had allowed just four hits through six innings.

“It just didn’t look good,” Gorman coach Gino DiMaria said. “Fitzgerald was throwing a phenomenal game. He had us off balance. We just couldn’t get our feet set. We just couldn’t get anything going.”

Fitzgerald struck out Jordan Sadovia to start the seventh, but No. 9 hitter Antonio Rainone singled to right to start the rally. Grenier walked, and one out later, Brandon Wulff doubled off the fence in right to pull the Gaels (32-3) within 5-3.

Cram then drove a 1-and-2 pitch over the fence in right to tie the game.

“I just felt numb,” Cram said. “I just went completely numb. It’s probably the best moment of my high school career and my baseball life. To do it with this group of guys is absolutely unreal.”

The home run was the first of the season for Gorman’s cleanup hitter.

“That might have been his first of the year, but it was the biggest one of the year for us,” Grenier said. “The emotions in the dugout were so high. As soon as he hit that, we knew there was no shot we were going to lose that game. No one was going to beat us after that.”

After coming up empty in the eighth, Grenier hit a 1-and-1 pitch over the fence in right to end the game and give the Gaels their first title since 2012.

“There’s no other way to end it right there than with Cadyn, our leader, taking us off right there,” Cram said. “That’s the way to go. He’s battled with us, we went to war a bunch of times. And I’m so happy for him and this whole team. That’s amazing.”

Grenier said he didn’t think he had hit the ball out, but thought he would be on base and hoped to start a rally.

“It was a pitch on the outer half tailing away, and I did exactly what I wanted, hit it to right field,” Grenier said. “I knew it was going to carry, but I didn’t think it was going to go out. I figured I had burned him, and I would get at least a double out of it and get the inning started. I looked up, and it bounced off something behind the fence and came up off that wall, and it still hasn’t sunk in. It was awesome.”

Gorman reliever Zach Grech threw 2 1/3 hitless innings of relief with five strikeouts to get the win.

“Man, he stepped up,” DiMaria said. “He absolutely just dominated up there.”

Green Valley (30-8) had dominated until the seventh. The Gators scored four runs in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie and take a comfortable lead. Blake Inouye’s RBI single broke the tie, and the Gators got four straight two-out hits to push the lead to four.

“Green Valley was just absolutely controlling the whole game,” DiMaria said. “They played a fantastic game. We did not want to go into a second game with them, because they were rolling pretty good; the momentum was going. We were just fortunate enough to get the big hits, the timely hits, and that was the bottom line.”

Ty Burger was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead Green Valley’s 12-hit attack. Fitzgerald allowed five earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and four walks. He had thrown 2/3 of an inning to get a save in Friday’s 6-3 win over Arbor View.

“I couldn’t be prouder of a sophomore kid going out there and giving that kind of performance,” Green Valley coach Corey Gehlken said. “No fear in that kid whatsoever, and he did a great job. I take my hat off to those guys for getting it done.”

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters.