Crusaders win second title in three years
May 20—It was the biggest pitch of Caleb Ellis' life, and everything seemed to be working against the sophomore.
Grace Christian was one out away from its second NCISAA state championship in three years, but the final game of one of the toughest schedules any high school team in the state had to face wasn't proving to be any easier than the others. It wasn't just that Hickory Grove Christian was really good—they expected that—but the weather was threatening and the humidity was off the charts, no one the Crusaders sent to the mound had their best stuff working, and last but not least, even when the pitchers hit their spots, the ball and strike calls were not consistent.
Both teams were upset about this at different times during Saturday's Game 2 of the series.
Grace had won Friday's Game 1 4-1 behind a brilliant outing from sophomore Landon McDonald, who went the distance and allowed just two hits and one run while striking out nine. The Crusaders jumped in front 3-0 in the first inning on a three-run double by Alex Pena Jimenez, and cruised to a win that put them one win away from a state championship on Saturday.
It was a championship that was craved by all of the Grace players and coaches, even first-year head coach Rob Wooten. For all that Wooten has achieved in baseball, including high school and college All-American honors, and even being good enough to pitch in 71 Major League Baseball games, the 38 year-old hadn't won a championship since youth ball. He'd come close at C.B. Aycock High School, where his number is retired, and twice finished second in the College World Series for UNC. Now he sought as a coach something that fate had long denied him as a player.
"I lost in two national title games. I lost in the Legion state championship game. I lost in two regional finals in high school. I lost in the AAU national championship game. I lost in a playoff race in the big leagues, when we kind of fell apart in September," said Wooten, who looked toward the championship trophy the Crusaders had just won. "That right there means a lot to me. I've been in a lot of championship games and never been able to hoist the trophy."
He and the team came into Saturday looking good. McDonald's gem lined up ace Camron Seagraves for the clincher. The Campbell recruit, who transferred to Grace for his senior season after years of being part of Wooten's C35 travel program, had been the bell cow for the Crusaders all season. But the 6'4" hurler with the 92mph heater was a bit off on Saturday. He had a no-hitter going into the fifth, but was walking people and running up a pitch count at an alarming rate. Even after Grace scored three in the top of the fifth (the Crusaders were the "away" team on the board) to lead 4-0, this wasn't over.
Hickory Grove senior Connor Barozzino, an Appalachian State recruit, hit Seagraves' second pitch of the bottom of the fifth over the left-field fence. Two hits and a walk later in the inning led to two more runs and cut the lead back to 4-3, even after Seagraves pitched out of the jam.
"We've been riding Cameron's back all year long, and even at 50%, he's still better than most high school players," Wooten said. "He wasn't himself today, but he still managed to get us with the lead late in the game. That's all you can ask for."
Luckily for Grace, the Lions' pitcher Davis Cabbage was out of gas by this time, and Hickory Grove had to go to the bullpen. The Crusaders smacked around two relievers and got the three runs right back. Boaz Harper singled in Will Clewis, after Clewis had led off with a hit. After walks to Ellis and Pena Jimenez with two down, Ethan Bunce hit a hard grounder through the middle for two more runs and a 7-3 lead.
The Lions chased Seagraves after a leadoff walk in their half of the sixth and Clewis came in to pitch, but the top of the order was up and they managed two runs before Clewis whiffed Landon Boyd with the potential tying run at the plate. Grace was not able to score any more in the top of the seventh.
It came down to Ellis to protect the 7-5 lead and get the last three outs. Wooten had already told him if a Game 3 was necessary, he would pitch it, but he was also available to close out a Game 2 win. No one had a problem with this. Ellis was a 2A All-State player last year, when he was 6-1 with a 1.01 ERA, and this year, against massively better opposition, he was 4-1, 1.73.
But like everyone else, the conditions were bothering him, and the strike zone seemed to have narrowed.
"It was muggy. I mean, this is a very high pressure situation, (and) every pitcher was finding themselves a little bit," said Wooten. "The umpires are in the same situation we are. I mean, they're trying their best. It's pressure."
Ellis started the bottom of the seventh and then four straight pitches were called balls to Colby Vanhook. The next man, Cabbage, hit the ball hard to left, but Pena Jimenez needed to move just two steps to grab it. The next at-bat, by Ryan Quesinberry, was the one that was maddening to Ellis and the Crusaders. Ellis threw him five pitches that could have been called strikes, he swung at just one, and ended up walking on a full-count pitch.
And now Ellis showed why he was All-State a year ago. He got ahead of Von Pelow 1-2 and then Pelow hit the ball well to right field, but Isaiah Arevalo ran it down. The final batter, Jack Dwyer, got ahead 2-0 but Ellis got two strikes to even the count. The next pitch looked like a winner, but it was called ball three.
It had come down to one pitch. Bad weather was coming and the Crusaders had to end it. Ellis had no choice but to challenge Dwyer, especially with the dangerous Barozzino on deck.
"I just had to throw a strike and let him hit it and see if he could," said Ellis, who thought he should have been celebrating on the previous pitch. "Just get it over the plate. It was a nine hole hitter. I wasn't expecting much out of them."
Dwyer had a hit earlier in the game, but Ellis did what he wanted, throwing the pitch right over the plate and daring Dwyer to hit it. Instead, he froze. The umpire called the strike three and the Crusaders had the title.
"Credit to Caleb, only a sophomore, to not let (the calls) affect him and make the biggest pitch of his life to secure a state championship," said Wooten. "That's who he is. That's exactly the kind of player he is. He's gonna go right at you and go for your jugular. That's what he does."
The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks in large part to the two pitchers who finished it. Clewis led off the game against Cabbage with a walk. After a walk to Harper and a single by Seagraves, Ellis walked and forced Clewis in. Cabbage then pitched out of the jam, however.
Seagraves faced an even worse situation in the third, when he walked the first three men, then got a strikeout and an infield popup before Pena Jimenez snared a line drive in left.
Seagraves struck out 10 and walked eight in five-plus innings, throwing a season-high 117 pitches.
Grace ended the season with a record of 20-7. The Crusaders shot all the way to No. 12 among all high school teams in the state in Monday's MaxPreps ratings. Grace owns wins over both the NCISAA 1A (Lawrence) and 2A (Wayne Country Day) state champions; it did not play 4A champ Metrolina Christian, but performed similarly against many common foes.
It was the ninth all-time state baseball title for Grace dating back to 1992, and its second during the NCISAA era. The Crusaders won the 1A title two years ago.
Arevalo, Riley Mullen, Seagraves, Will Morrison, and Harper all ended their Crusader athletic careers with a championship before graduating on Monday.
"Every single day and we were hard on them and we challenged them and we pushed them," Wooten said. "They all came here for this reason right here to get better, to develop, to learn, to challenge themselves. And all these players like (assistant) Coach (Jevon) Wade said, they could go start on any high school team around here, but they chose to come here to get better and better themselves. And I am thankful they did."
