The Billings Wildcats entered the bottom of the seventh inning trailing Wheaton 3-2. They were able to squeak out two runs and walk off with a win thanks to an unlikely hero.
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After Tyler Essick smacked a double to tie the game, the table was set for the bottom of the Wildcats’ order. With two outs and runners on the corners, nine-hole hitter Peyton Gold stepped into the box. He was able to poke the ball through the left side of the infield and drive in Essick to win the game in walk-off fashion. Gold finished the game 2-4 with two RBI, including the game winner.
“Today, the top of the order kind of fell quite a little bit and the bottom carried us,” said second-year Billings head coach Beau Davis. “I like to see that because the bottom is all young guys. I’ve got three freshmen playing and a sophomore playing that hasn’t played before, so I was kind of impressed to see those guys be able to come through with some hits.”
Wheaton put Billings in an early hole in the top of the first inning. Lead-off man Joyce Brattin drew a walk and his brother Bo Brattin hit him in with a triple. Then the very next batter Hilsden Moseley hit a two-run homer to put Wheaton up 3-0 right off the bat. The catcher Moseley had a great game going 3-3 with the home run, a double and two RBI.
“It was a great night for him,” said Wheaton coach John Branscum. “He [Moseley] is definitely, I would say, our best overall hitter. He’s got some power and he lifted it up into that wind gust today and just shot it right out of there. It was great to see him get on the ball tonight.”
But Billings showed resilience and slowly chipped away at the lead. They put their first run on the board in the third inning. Wheaton misplayed a rundown and Billings was able to score from third base. Then in the fourth inning, Gold drove in Luke Johnson with two outs, pulling them to within one. That all set up the seventh inning.
“I saw some freshmen take charge of a game,” said Davis. “The bottom of our lineup came through and put the ball in play… I was really impressed to see those young guys, the six, seven, eight and nine hole hitters coming through like they did.”
This was the second game of the season for both teams. Billings beat Dadeville 15-0 and Wheaton fell to Pierce City 10-0 (both occurring on Monday). Considering those lopsided outcomes, the experience gained in Tuesday’s close contest could prove to be valuable to both teams.
“It’s an encouraging game for us,” said Branscum. “Not only is it young in the season, but we’re a young team overall… So it’s good to see them battle in a game stride for stride with a team that’s pretty solid year in and year out like Billings. It’s encouraging to see for the rest of the season going forward.”
“I feel like when the whole team comes together and plays, I feel like we’re going to be very hard to beat,” said Davis.
