Never-give-up Charlotte Catholic Cougars rally in 7th, stun Providence for SW4A title
It was pretty simple, really.
Charlotte Catholic was a beaten team.
The Cougars trailed 4-2 in the top of the seventh inning of Thursday night’s Southwestern 4A Conference tournament championship game at Garinger High School.
The Cougars had two outs and nobody on base against a Providence team that was 2-0 against Charlotte Catholic in the regular season and 10-0 against the rest of the Southwestern 4A.
The Cougars were beaten.
And then they weren’t.
Charlotte Catholic erupted for four runs — all with two outs — and stunned the Panthers 6-4, winning the conference tournament title.
“It’s simple — they weren’t beaten,” first-year head coach Eddie Hull said after his Cougars won what several long-time Charlotte Catholic fans said was the school’s first baseball conference tournament championship.
“All year, we battled back,” Hull said. “We have a gritty team that just won’t quit. And then for us to be able to bounce back against a team like Providence? Wow!”
The Panthers were one strike away from winning it. Reliever Brady Thompson had two strikes on the Cougars’ Evan MacIntyre with two outs in the seventh and the Panthers up 4-2. But MacIntyre, laced a double down the left-field line. Then Nathan Schwartz walked.
That left Providence coach Danny Hignight with a tough decision.
Coming to the plate was Cougars’ cleanup hitter John McKillop, who had walloped a pair of doubles in the game. Hignight had Thompson intentionally walk McKillop, putting the go-ahead run on the bases.
Thompson worked Cougars’ shortstop Cooper Gornet to two strikes, before Gornet lofted a single just over the second baseman’s head. That scored two runs and tied the game at 4-4. McKillop then scored on a wild pitch, and Gornet came home on a Joey Hall single.
In the bottom of the seventh, Providence loaded the bases with two outs, but reliever Alex Hoffman struck out Panthers’ cleanup hitter Ben Baldassarre.
Hull, a former Cougar baseball standout who graduated in 2012, said McKillop was a key to winning the game.
“He didn’t play that well Tuesday night,” Hull said of his slugger’s performance in a semifinal victory over Butler. “We challenged him to step up tonight, and he really did.”
The story of this game can’t be told without mentioning the potential Providence runs that never scored.
The Panthers, who excel at stealing bases and moving runners ahead on sacrifices, had three base-runners thrown out on pickoff plays Thursday.
“I don’t blame them for trying that against us, because sometimes we have a problem with that,” Hull said.
Two of those outs came in the third inning, when Providence had a walk and two hits but scored only one run.
Hull said winning pitcher Mason Child, who worked into the seventh inning, was made those pickoff plays happen.
“Mason got those plays started,” Hull said. “He’s been so big for us all year.”
Providence (21-4) entered the game sixth in the RPI ratings in the 4A West, and the Panthers are likely to have up to two home games in the playoffs.
Charlotte Catholic (19-8) was 16th before Thursday’s victory. The Cougars are pretty much guaranteed one home playoff game.
“I really hope somehow we can climb (in the ratings) and get two home games,” Hull said. “This team deserves it.”
PHOTOS: Catholic vs. Providence
