By Chris Parker
Licking baseball is back in the state championship game for the first time since 1994 after beating Barstow 4-1 in the semifinal on Wednesday afternoon at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark.
The game saw a bit of everything with eight total hits, six errors by Barstow, 18 combined runners left on base and a 30-minute lightning delay.
“(It was) a lot of grit and determination. Kind of an ugly game on both sides. We never really did get going offensively. (We) left a lot of guys on base. Keyton Cook our starter wasn’t our sharpest, but he battled and got outs when he needed to. You throw a weather delay in the middle of that. These guys are fighters and they know how to finish and they did a great job of that today,” Licking head coach Harv Antle said.
Barstow got on the board first in the top of the first inning. David Guldin singled up the middle. He moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt. Solomon Holmes was hit by a Cook pitch in the next at-bat to put two on. Guldin stole third base to get 90-feet away before coming home on a Werner Keidel grounder to short.
That is all Barstow would get.
Cook stranded two Barstow runners on in the first and seven total over his six innings.
“I saw him (Cook) bear down and make pitches when he needed to. We had a pick play early that was big to take a little pressure off. The guys made plays behind him. I think he had the confidence to know if they put him in play they were going to make plays behind him. He rose to the occasion when he needed to,” Antle said.
Licking answered back in the bottom of the second inning. Silas Antle reached via a seven-pitch walk to start the inning. He came around to score on a Kellar Davis double two batters later. Davis moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielding error to make it 2-1.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Licking had seized the momentum, but the weather took it back. A lightning strike paused the game for 30 minutes before the first pitch of the third inning.
Licking was unfazed.
“These guys have battled all year long. We have played bigger schools. We have been on the road. We have played in this park before. We have had weather delays before in playoff games. They are battle tested and it was nothing new to them. I think there was a big sense of familiarity and comfort,” Antle said.
The Wildcats’ experience playing on the Sky Bacon Stadium turf was evident throughout as Licking committed no errors to six for Barstow. Three of Licking’s four runs were unearned.
“Knowing that there is more distance between the catcher and backstop, keeping the ball in front is very important. Depth perception can be a little bit of an issue for outfielders and even outfielder placement at time. And being used to the speed of the turf. It is a little bouncy here. At times you saw some high hoppers. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t experienced before, so we did see it as an advantage,” Antle said.
The game remained scoreless after the weather delay until the bottom of the fifth.
Silas Antle got things started with another walk. Cook followed him with a single to left to put runners on first and second. Davis bunted down the first base line on the following batter and reached on an error to load the bases.
The Wildcats made back-to-back outs via a fielder’s choice to third base and a lineout to first base on the ensuing batters.
Leadoff hitter Cole Wallace came up and helped Licking break through with a two-out single through the left side to bring Cook home. Keyton Rinne worked a five-pitch walk to score Davis and give Licking an insurance run.
Cook kept Barstow off the scoreboard in the sixth. Rusty Buckner came in to close the game out in the top of the seventh recording three outs on nine pitches with a flyout, strikeout and a groundout to shortstop to end the game.
Licking advances to the state championship game for the first time since 1994 when the Wildcats finished runner-up. Antle’s message will be simple for his team heading into their final game of the season.
“Just relax and keep playing. This is the fun part of it. It is the toughest part to get out of a district. Once you get to this point it is easy to enjoy the experience and have fun and go play. We are going to lay it all out on the field and give 100-percent tomorrow. They will be relaxed and get after it,” Antle said.
The Wildcats will be looking for their first title since going back-to-back in 1988 and 1989. Licking will face South Callaway at 1 pm on Thursday at Sky Bacon Stadium in Ozark.
Expect the stands to be packed with the orange and black of Licking.
“The town has just been on fire. They put together and emergency vehicle parade to take us out of town and bring us back into town from the district on. They are super excited. Store fronts are painted. People are going crazy,” Antle said. “They are so hungry for success on the baseball side of things. To be able to be the group that has broken through that ceiling has been awesome. We hope we can give them one more (win) tomorrow.”
