Oak Ridge's offense fails to fire in 3-0 quarterfinal loss

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- There he was, long after the game had ended and most fans had gotten in their cars and left.

There he was, alone in the bullpen, sitting on the ground with his back to everything and everyone left at the Oak Ridge baseball field.

There was Garret Light, his No. 9 jersey still on his back, his thoughts almost certainly on the game that had proven to be his last in that uniform, a 3-0 loss to Cooter in a Class 1 state quarterfinal Wednesday.

There he was, the player who perhaps more than any other had helped transform Oak Ridge boys sports from perennial losers to postseason contenders, left one win short of a trip to the final four for a second season in a row.

Cooter pitcher Johnathan Boone bewitched Light and the Oak Ridge offense, allowing just two hits while striking out 12 batters over his seven shutout innings.

"He had a weird delivery [and] released real low," Light said. "It was hard to pick up the ball. He threw a good game. I think we only got two hits."

No Oak Ridge player reached base until the fourth inning, when Brett Thomas reached on an error. Thomas later got the Blue Jays' first hit with two outs in the sixth inning.

"Nobody really said anything," Light said of the lack of hits. "I knew that I really wanted to hit the ball. I was horrible at the plate today, let everybody down pretty much."

Oak Ridge's Garret Light fields a ball during the fifth inning of Wednesday's Class 1 quarterfinal game in Oak Ridge, Mo. (KRISTIN EBERTS)

Thomas, who pitched a complete game for the Blue Jays, had a much different assessment of Light's day, which was highlighted as much by his stellar defensive performance at shortstop as it was by his three strikeouts.

With Oak Ridge trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Light got the first two outs of the inning on grounders that grazed off Thomas, the second more improbable than the first as he charged in and made a quick, off-balanced throw to first.

"That was awesome," Thomas said. "He's done that his whole career here at Oak Ridge and he came up big on both plays. I think I kind of hurt him on the second one. He just made a tremendous play on that. That was unbelievable. We're going to miss him next year, that's for sure."

Cooter put a runner on base in every inning except the fifth, but scored in just two innings. The Wildcats got an unearned run in the third inning on a bases-loaded walk and scored two runs in the sixth on a fielder's choice and RBI single by Boone.

"There's a couple innings we could have broke it open and we made some base running mistakes and couldn't get the key hit, but that was due to him," Cooter coach Allen Crawford said, referring to Thomas. "When we got those runners on, he went to another gear and got us out. He is a really good competitor. I'd like to have him on my team."

Oak Ridge's Brett Thomas reacts after Wednesday's game against Cooter.

Thomas needed 117 pitches to get through his seven innings of work. He gave up seven hits and seven walks.

"The top four in their lineup are monsters and you don't want to groove something to them," Oak Ridge coach Jason Niswonger said. "He could have been a little more efficient to the bottom of the lineup, but again three runs against Cooter -- I'll take that. If you'd have told me yesterday Cooter is going to score three, I'd have said, 'All right, we've got a good chance.' So you can't fault him at all."

Oak Ridge's Caleb Elam makes a catch during the third inning of Wednesday's Class 1 state quarterfinal game in Oak Ridge, Mo. (KRISTIN EBERTS)

The Blue Jays' best scoring opportunity came in the fourth inning, when Dakota Zoellner walked after Thomas reached on an error with two outs, but Boone struck out Kyle Rohde to end the inning.

"We could have 12 errors and 20 walks, if you score zero runs none of that matters," Niswonger said. "That's what it boils down to is our offense, not our defense."

Lucas Rohde got Oak Ridge's second hit with two outs in the seventh inning.

"Just not enough hitting," Thomas said. "They're a good team and just outplayed us today."

Oak Ridge ended the season at 13-13, reaching the state quarterfinals for the second time in two years and the second time in school history.

Oak Ridge's Brett Thomas pitches during the fifth inning of a Class 1 quarterfinal game in Oak Ridge, Mo., on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Oak Ridge lost to Cooter 3-0. (KRISTIN EBERTS)

"It's awesome," Light said, trying to see the positive through the pain of the loss and tears in his eyes. "We came a lot farther than we ever thought we would. It's just a great deal, and I'm sad that it's over."

While Light and third baseman Logan Mangels have graduated, Thomas and the rest of the roster will return next season.

For Thomas, that will mean playing high school basketball and baseball without Light for the first time. Both have played varsity sports since their freshman years.

"Not one memory at Oak Ridge has been without him," Thomas said. "He's unbelievable, that's for sure."

There was Garret Light, still sitting by himself in the distance as Thomas talked about all they'd accomplished on Oak Ridge teams.

Oak Ridge's Garret Light and Cooter's Patrick Wark get tangled up during a play at third during the sixth inning of a Class 1 quarterfinal game in Oak Ridge, Mo., on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Oak Ridge lost to Cooter 3-0. (KRISTIN EBERTS)

"It helps a little bit," Thomas said of the close calls. "It motivates us a little bit, but we're our own team, not the past or the future. We just wanted to do what we could, and we didn't come out with it."

Cooter 001 002 0 -- 3 7 1

Oak Ridge 000 000 0 -- 0 2 2

WP -- Johnathan Boone. LP -- Brett Thomas. 2B -- Patrick Ward (C). Multiple hits -- Cooter: Boone 2-4, Ward 2-4. Records -- Oak Ridge 13-13.