WICHITA — The Santa Barbara Foresters were not doing well in the 100-degree weather.
Shortstop Shane Kroker had the shakes as he fought off looming heat exhaustion, and Michael Ratterree was cramping up.
In one of the grittiest performances you can imagine, the middle infielders came up with season-saving hits as the Foresters (43-10) staved off elimination from the National Baseball Congress World Series with a 10-inning 5-4 comeback win over the Derby (KS) Twins on Sunday.
Kroker, who was close to collapsing from exhaustion after the game, hit a two-run single that tied the ballgame at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, forcing extra innings. He was still sweating after a 10-minute post-game cold shower.
Ratterree then hit a towering two-run homer in the 10th and Cody Martin picked up his 13th save of the season.
A loss would have sent the two-time champions home early. A win sets up a game against the Sedalia (KS) Bombers on Tuesday.
Ratterree tries to stay cool in the dugout (SB Foresters photo).
“We had to take Ratterree out of the game after his home run. The home run was Kirk Gibson-like, because he was cramping in his whole body. He was stretching before that last pitch came, trying to get loose,” said sweat-drenched manager Bill Pintard after the game. “These guys competed, competed and competed. Derby did too, and they’re a class organization.”
With a runner at third and one out, a deep fly ball would have been enough to put Santa Barbara up 4-3, but Ratterree hit his second bomb in as many days to get an insurance run that wound up being needed after the Twins got one back in the bottom of the tenth.
“I knew it had a chance when I hit it,” said the soft-spoken second baseman, a former Texas High School Player of the Year. “This was definitely one of the most exciting games I’ve been in, and it shows that we can come back.”
The Heat was brutal, and Santa Barbara was doing everything it could to stay cool. Pintard introduced an old Dominican trick he learned by having the players put cold lettuce on the insides of their caps. They were also drinking lots of water and eating oranges in the dugout throughout the game. Pintard praised head trainer Margaret Rall and assistant Brittney Pintard for their efforts.
“Right now, I’m sitting here after the game and my heart’s beating fast. I’m sopping wet and I didn’t even play,” said the coach. “It’s just something we had to deal with, and we did.”
Tim Kelley, a former Derby Twin, got the start and was reliable as always, giving up four hits and one run (on a wild pitch in the fourth) with eight strikeouts through five innings.
Derby starter Garrett Groom had the Foresters stumped for the most part, giving up five hits and one run in six innings, and also adding six strikeouts. The equalizing run came when Jeff McVaney singled in Kyle Kubitza in the top of the sixth. Garrett Bayliff hit a two-run triple for the Twins in the seventh that made it 3-1, but Kroker’s hit tied it up in the ninth.
Pintard also gave kudos to his coaching staff, as the scouting efforts continued into the early morning hours during Derby’s late-Saturday win over the El Dorado (KS) Broncos.
Despite the mental and physical fatigue, Pintard said the nail-biter will help his team press on through the tournament.
“Absolutely… They snatched victory out of defeat, and they finally got it going,” he said.
