Giants win Southern Valley title

FORT DEFIANCE — Waynesboro entered the seventh inning with its Southern Valley District championship hopes almost broken as it trailed Fort Defiance 4-2. The Little Giants’ bats were cold for most of the night, but they strung together a seven-run inning to pick up a 9-4 win and clinch the inaugural Southern Valley baseball title.
“The kids just wouldn’t die,” Waynesboro coach Jim Critzer said. “They showed character and heart tonight. We did a great job, but Fort always gives us a great battle.”
The Indians kept the Little Giants off the bases for most of the game, with Daniel “Righty” Wright taking the starting duties. The Little Giants only managed five hits and two runs in the first six innings.
Fort scored two in the third to take a 2-1 lead. A Michael Wade double brought Justin Chittum home and Wade scored the second run when Sean Britt hit an RBI single.
The Little Giants knotted the game in the fifth after Wright gave up a bases-loaded walk that plated Joseph Lucas. The Indians quickly made up for the mistake, scoring one run in the bottom of the inning on a Wade sacrifice fly. Blake Sipe scored on the play.
Fort scored one more run in the game when Righty Wright hit a solo blast over the right centerfield fence.
Trailing by two in the seventh, Waynesboro had to score at least two runs if it wanted the automatic bid for the Region III tournament.
Eric Hall led off the rally, hitting a single to shallow left field.
“I had to get on no matter what,” Hall said. “The first man on is the most important, so I drove it up the middle.”
Jay Thompson flew out, but Josh Craig got the momentum moving again with a single, advancing Hall. Jeremy Hahn brought in Hall with an RBI single and an infield error put Stevie Moreland on first and plated Aaron Lamb, who was running for Craig, knotting the score at four.
The Indians made their second pitching change of the night, pulling relief pitcher Dustin Brugler and putting in Derek Shifflett. The Little Giants continued to mount an offensive attack.
Derek Hall walked and Will Freeman reached base on another Indian error. Joseph Lucas hit an RBI sacrifice grounder to bring Hall home. Terrell Thompson and Freeman each scored on a Jay Thompson single to wrap up the inning.
Fort Defiance had one last shot to spoil Waynesboro’s championship celebration, but Lucas put a stop to it, striking out two in the final frame. Kendall Wolf, the Giants’ sophomore catcher, recorded the other putout on a pop fly with a head-over-heels catch, nearly taking out Lucas.
“You don’t understand how bad I wanted a foul ball,” Wolfe said. “I just wanted something close so I could be part of the team. I wanted it. I know Joseph wanted it, but I needed it.”
With the district wrapped up, the Little Giants will focus on their final three games, all non-district with two against former Valley District rival Turner Ashby.
“We are going to have some fun,” Critzer said. “We have two games with TA, and that’s a rivalry, I don’t care what district they’re in. We are going to get some of the kids in that haven’t played. We are going to get the heart in.”