Preston Parker catches a pop fly near the mound during his team's 8-7 win over Richmond Green on Thursday.
It was Scotland second baseman Brian Shatzwell, who came to bat with his team still down by one run with two outs in the final inning, who drove in the winning runs with a clutch line drive to deep left field.
The ball eluded the Richmond left fielder, giving both the tying and game winning runs the time to score, capping a dramatic comeback.
"I said 'Brian, if he throws you anything to hit early you can win it for us', and he took it on his shoulders and popped it out there," said SHS head coach David Barnes of the game's final at bat.
It was a strategic change by Barnes which initiated the shift in momentum, beginning in the fourth inning when the coach told his team to consider the umpire’s overly tight strike zone and take more pitches.
The strategy worked, as Raider pitching began issuing more walks and Scots batters began finding themselves in friendlier counts as the game wore on.
Preston Parker started the game on the mound for the Scots, giving up six runs in three innings before yielding to Casian Murphy who, in two innings, allowed one run.
"Then Logan Weagraff, our ace, came in and slammed the door on them," Barnes said.
Weagraff, who pitched seven innings in a win over Richmond Gold on Monday, was brought in by Barnes once it became apparent that the game was, in fact, winnable.
Weagraff struck out four in the final two innings, and allowed no runs.
Shatzwell finished 2-for-2 with 3 RBI and was joined by Kris Tyndall (2-for-3, 1 RBI) and Johnny Mintz (1-for-3, 3 RBI) in leading the Scots offensively during the comeback.
Scotland will play next on March 16 at South View starting at 5 p.m.
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