Press Box: District title marathon was something special

The Class 4 District 9 championship game in Sullivan Tuesday, May 16, 2017 between No. 1 Helias and No. 3 Blair Oaks took 16 innings for the Crusaders to win.
The Class 4 District 9 championship game in Sullivan Tuesday, May 16, 2017 between No. 1 Helias and No. 3 Blair Oaks took 16 innings for the Crusaders to win.

I have sat through many extra-inning baseball games, but last Tuesday night's Class 4 District 9 baseball championship game was a new experience for me.

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AP

Chicago Blackhawks' Marcus Kruger (16), left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the third period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey playoffs Western Conference semifinal against the Detroit Red Wings in Chicago, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

It took 16 innings and just shy of four hours, but Helias finally emerged with a 5-4 win against Blair Oaks to take the district title.

As the game headed to extra innings tied at 3, it became one scoreless inning after another. In fact, the line score on the scoreboard at the Bank of Sullivan Ball Park only goes 10 innings, so it had to reset in the 11th, only to add five more innings of zeroes before both teams scored in the 16th.

I even had to go to a second set of scoresheets in my scorebook once the 10th inning began, and had the game gone to a 19th inning, I would've needed a third set.

When the 15th inning began, the Sullivan public address announcer welcomed everyone to the third game of tonight's tripleheader. That drew a laugh from the fans, and it was nice to see someone have a sense of humor that late in the game.

Around the 12th inning, I began to wonder if this game would ever end. By the 14th inning, I began plotting several plans on how I could possibly make deadline with my story should the game last at least another hour. I mean, what are the odds a game that starts at 5 p.m. would make me even ponder that thought?

Even the fans didn't know what to do. A few had to ease their nerves and walk around the adjacent track at Sullivan High School. They weren't worried about missing a run, and trust me, the score was still the same when they returned to their seats.

When Blair Oaks scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 16th, most writers would finally exhale and think that finally, this game was about to end. But not me. For some reason, I didn't get my hopes up. This felt like the game that would never end.

But it did end that inning, just not the way most people would have thought once the bottom of the 16th inning began, with a game-tying balk call followed by a game-ending wild pitch.

It was a crazy finish, but it was pretty fitting for a crazy game.

For those fans who made the trip to Sullivan - seriously, why did we have to travel 90 miles to watch a game played between two schools that are about five miles apart? - they never knew what was going to happen with the next pitch.

There were plenty of miscues on defense by both teams, combining for 10 errors. Blair Oaks made three errors in the ninth inning, but even that didn't lead to a game-ending run by Helias.

Baserunning mistakes also led to a longer game. Helias had five runners thrown out at third base, including a failed squeeze-play attempt in the 10th inning.

But despite all that, there was some impressive pitching throughout, particularly when both teams went to their bullpen.

Helias turned to Trevor Austin in the ninth inning. Only a freshman, Austin labored through five-plus innings, but did not yield a run. Then Connor McKenna pitched scoreless innings in the 14th and 15th.

Blair Oaks went to Thomas Verslues in the sixth inning, and he continued to pitch until the end of the 15th. In those 92/3 scoreless innings, Verslues threw 107 pitches - he reached No. 105 on his last batter - and only allowed Helias to hit the ball out of the infield a mere three times.

There's a saying there are no two ballgames that are alike. Try telling that to Blair Oaks.

On May 2, Blair Oaks lost 3-2 to Battle in 16 innings. Verslues also pitched in relief during that game throwing 9 1/3 scoreless innings (close enough). And the Falcons lost in the bottom of the 16th on a walk-off wild pitch. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up, you guys.

After Blair Oaks' semifinal win against Salem, I asked Falcons coach Travis Henke about facing Helias for a third time. 

"I'm just hoping for a very good game," Henke said.

He got exactly what he asked for, and I should have seen the foreshadowing coming then.

Next up is Tuesday's Class 4 sectional between Helias and Bolivar, two teams that played an 11-inning contest in last year's district final.

Hey, don't kill the messenger. I'm not trying to jinx it into going into extra innings. I'm just trying to give you a fair warning.

But I'll be rooting for a seven-inning game.