Second-round heartbreak: Third-seeded Grimsley baseball loses to 19th-seeded Ballantyne Ridge
For the second straight season, Grimsley saw its baseball season end in the second round and in the process, continued a run of bad luck at this point in the postseason.
The Whirlies, seeded third in the 7A playoffs, suffered a 3-2 loss to 19th-seeded Ballantyne Ridge of Charlotte on Friday. Last year, Grimsley (21-6) lost, 3-1, as the fourth seed to 20th-seeded South Iredell. The latest loss, also played at Stoner White Stadium, means Grimsley is 0-5 in second-round games since last reaching the third round in 2007.
The loss halted a historic two-year run in which Grimsley went 44-11 and won its first two conference titles since 1996.
"It's hard to put into words, honestly," said Grimsley coach Jason Simmons regarding those seniors who played their last game. "This senior class has done a tremendous amount in the face of a lot of adversity. We've made no excuses. I've never tried to make an excuse about our situation, but it's a huge credit to them for what they've been able to accomplish in the face of a lot of things that just aren't set up for success. I'll leave it at that."
Ballantyne Ridge (11-17), playing in the school's second year, got its second-ever playoff victory following a 4-0 victory over 14th-seeded Hopewell on Tuesday. They will face either No. 6 Richmond Senior or No. 11 Butler.
The Wolves scored their winning run with one out in the top of sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Liam Gordon that scored junior Alex Whitman, who reached on a walk and moved around on a sacrifice bunt and a bloop single to center field.
"Obviously, first off, I want to give them a lot of credit," Ballantyne Ridge coach Michael Ladka said. "They are a really good baseball team. We've played a lot of good teams and so that is something that prepared us for this game and so I told our boys, ‘Hey, we've played teams that are going to be comparable' and so I do want to first say that's a really good baseball team that we just competed against over there and so hats off to them on a great season."
Grimsley's lefty starting pitcher Levi Ponder had a 1-2-3 first inning in sight when a dropped third strike allowed Grady Sabin to reach. A pair of passed balls moved Sabin to third before Ballantyne Ridge starting pitcher Jace Shuler singled for the game's first run.
Grimsley responded in the bottom half as junior Gabe Doolen doubled down the left-field line, scoring Ponder, whose leadoff hit up the middle was his 100th career hit.
Ballantyne Ridge could have broken it open with two outs in the top of the fourth. After strikeouts to start the inning, Whitman singled, Trask walked and a mishandled grounder loaded the bases. Ponder ended the threat when he struck out Gordon on a 2-2 pitch.
In the fifth, the Wolves drove in a run to regain the lead, but Grimsley tied the score on a one-out on a single by Patrick Whitehead.
"He's just a tough kid," Simmons said. "He really competes. He puts his nose down, he doesn't say a whole lot and he works his butt off. He's a sophomore in the program, really proud of his season and the way he has stepped up trying to fill the role of Sebastian Rodriguez, who was a four-year starter at shortstop for us."
Grimsley's rally ended when Adam Takacs, who advanced to second on the hit, got picked off.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Whitehead stole second. Fin Millard's hard grounder near third base was fielded by a diving Shuler, who threw as he rotated from the ground to throw out Millard on a bang-bang play to end the inning.
"I'll be honest, at first, I thought the ball may have gotten through to the outfield," Ladka said. "Then, I didn't see the ball get into the grass, so I knew he stopped it and for him to get up and make a throw and obviously, listen, it was a close play at first but really an impressive play to be able to do that and keep us in the ballgame and save a run right there. That was big."
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