Apr. 22—Tuscola baseball had its back against the wall on Friday night.
Going into the seventh inning against rival Pisgah, the Mountaineers hadn't gotten a single hit all night. It was on track to be the second shut-out game against Pisgah in one week, following a 12-0 defeat in the first round of the County Clash on their home field.
"Tuesday obviously didn't go the way we wanted. Getting run rolled on your home field by your rival, there are a lot of opportunities there to lay down," said Tuscola Coach Zack Shepherd. "But they rallied as a team and battled their butts off."
The Bears were undefeated in conference play going into the game, a streak now upended by the Mountaineers. Pisgah remains ranked #1 in the conference, with Tuscola close behind at #2.
Tuscola trailed 2-0 heading into the 7th inning. But the Mountaineers rattled off four runs in the final frame for the 4-3 comeback win.
"The kids played all 21 outs, and we preached that," Shepherd said. "They've competed their butts off since they were seven years old. They don't know any other way."
Senior pitcher Mason Harrell dueled with Pisgah junior pitcher Zack Wester all night on the mound — with both pitchers throwing phenomenal games. Harrell allowed only five hits all night, Wester only allowed three.
"It was a great high school baseball game. It was two pitchers out there making it work. Every batter had to really, really work for everything," Shepherd said.
Harrell's performance was critical in such a close game Friday night. Pisgah's pitcher would lock down Tuscola runs, so Harrell had to do the same.
"Runs were gonna be at a premium. We weren't gonna go out and score eight runs on Wester. Mason knew that. He knew the pressure was on him to keep us in it," Shepherd said.
Wester dominated throughout the first six innings. By the seventh, he hadn't given up a hit and allowed only a single walk. That lone walk had been wiped out with a double play, meaning Wester had faced the minimum of 18 batters through the first six innings.
Harrell then came up to the plate to open the seventh, and the two pitchers met face to face — and Harrell broke Wester's streak, getting Tuscola's first hit of the night.
"I think that the moment got a little bit too big," Pisgah Coach Harold Shepard said. "Mason got that hit, first hit of the game, and it rattled him. Normally, I think he handles it very well. Tuscola game at home on Friday night — it happens. He's a 16-year-old kid."
A pair of walks and a pop-out loaded the bases with one out for Tuscola. The tide was starting to turn, but the Mountaineers were still trailing by two runs.
Senior Eli Freeman stepped to the plate for Tuscola, roping a line drive into center field to bring home Harrell and senior Ian Amsler and tie the game.
"He's kind of been struggling the last couple of games. And he came through with a huge hit right there to tie the game," Shepard said.
With runners on the corners and one out, Shepherd made the call for sophomore Landry Webb to lay down the squeeze bunt.
"Landry Webb, even though he's a sophomore, he's one of those kids who controls his emotions great," Shepherd said. "I knew the moment wasn't too big for him. You give the squeeze to a lot of people in the seventh against their rival, they're shaking in their boots. But Landry is a mentally tough kid."
Webb put the bunt down, and junior August Fama sprinted in from third to give Tuscola the lead, barely beating the toss to the plate.
Tuscola wasn't content with the 3-2 lead, pushing one more run across the plate when Freeman came in to score on a wild pitch.