A freshman on the mound when a team is playing for survival isn't exactly where it wants to be.
But that's what faced the Galena High baseball team when it played Wooster in an elimination game in the Northern 4A Playoffs. Tony Thompson, a freshman, provided Galena with a valiant effort.
He pitched a complete game, but was victimized by one inning in which he gave up five runs as Wooster overcame a 3-0 deficit for a 6-4 win on Thursday at Ron McNutt Field. Wooster stayed alive to play Douglas at 3 p.m. today at McNutt Field in an elimination game while the Grizzlies' season came to an end.
If not for the wind that just happened to be blowing in at the time, the Grizzlies may still be playing. But Rod Scurry's shot that appeared to be a game-tying three-run home run was knocked down with the wind and the Grizzlies' chance of extending their season was also knocked down in the process.
But Galena coach Gary McNamara wasn't that disappointed considering he started three freshmen and a sophomore against Wooster. "It just wasn't in the cards," McNamara said. "We'll be back next year."
Galena took a 3-0 lead in the third against Jeremy Joustra, who went the distance for the win. Brian Evans led off with a single and moved to second on Andrew Ferguson's sacrafice bunt.
Frank Kurnik followed with a single and Evans was able to slide away from the tag at the plate to make it 1-0. A dropped flyball gave Galena a 2-0 lead and Scurry's RBI single made it 3-0.
Wooster cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth, but Thompson received defensive help when Ferguson made a diving catch in center field to cut down the damage. But in the fifth, Wooster took a 6-3 lead on Kurt Nordmeyer's two-run double, Jake Rasner's RBI double and Joustra's two-run single.
The Grizzlies battled back in the bottom of the fifth when Ferguson walked and Kurnik singled. After they moved up on a wild pitch, Scurry sent a shot to left field that seemed destined to tie the game. But the ball was knocked down by the win and Scurry settled for an RBI sacrifice fly that made it 6-4.
"I think he caught a pretty good portion of that ball," McNamara said. "On a normal day that ball would probably gotten out of her. One at bat wasn't the difference."
Basim Azzam had two hits, including a double, to lead Galena and Ferguson added a single.
"I'm extremely proud of Tommy," McNamara said. "That's a real tough spot as a freshman to be in an elimination game. He probably pitched btter than I could have imagined. I'm proud of all the guys."
Contact Charles Whisnand at cwhisnand@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1214.