Oran baseball team takes little route to big district victory

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Oran cleanup hitter Blake Carlyle started a championship-winning, two-out rally with a bunt.

He swung at and missed an inside first pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning against Bernie pitcher Jesse Shelton. Then he saw Mules third baseman Brad Freed take a step backward before the next pitch, and he responded by bunting down the third-base line and beating the throw to first.

"Bunting is one of my stronger areas, I feel, and I like to catch them off-guard on that, and it worked," Carlyle said. "When I first came up to hit, he was a little bit closer. And after I took that swing, he scooted back a little bit, and I was like ‘This is my chance.'

"I had it in my head that I wanted to do it sometime this game. It just happened to be the time to do it."

Carlyle advanced to second after Shelton hit the next batter. Left fielder Jacob Priggel hit a line drive down the left-field line, and Carlyle was sent home and beat the throw to the plate by left fielder Blake Trover for the 6-5 victory and the Class 1 District 2 title.

Oran’s Blake Carlyle scores the winning run as Bernie catcher Austin Hatchel takes the late throw during the seventh inning of their Class 1 District 2 championship game Thursday in Leopold, Mo. Oran won 6-5. (Fred Lynch)

"I was just trying to make contact like we had been doing the whole tournament here," Priggel said. "I was just trying to make contact, get a base hit and score that run."

Carlyle's bunt started the rally after he may have saved the game for Oran in the top of the seventh inning.

Bernie's Josh Stevens began the inning with a deep drive to center field, and Carlyle sprinted toward the fence and reached up with his glove to catch the ball before running into the fence. The umpires conferred to determine that Carlyle held onto the ball for the first out with the Eagles clinging to a one-run lead. Carlyle was shaken up, but he stayed in the game with a bloody chin.

"I saw the ball and I knew it was going to be a hard one to get to," Carlyle said. "I was sprinting and my teammates were yelling, ‘Fence,' the whole time, but that's not what's going through your head. Whenever it came in, I was just hoping to make the catch, and the fence was right there."

Bernie's Will Barnett followed Stevens' drive with a double that likely would have scored Stevens if Carlyle hadn't made the catch. Devin Trammel drove in Barnett with another double two batters later to tie the game.

Oran center fielder Blake Carlyle hits the fence after catching a Bernie fly ball during the seventh inning of the Class 1 District 2 title game Thursday, May 17, 2012 in Leopold, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Bernie grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but Oran responded with two runs in its half of the inning. Seth Ressel's two-run double with nobody out accounted for Oran's runs.

The Eagles grabbed a 5-3 lead in the fifth after Kody Moore and Ressel walked to begin the inning. The pair pulled a double steal before scoring on a single by Carlyle.

"I was just trying to do my job," Carlyle said. "I didn't come through earlier. I popped one out on the infield. I was glad when he gave me another curveball. I was just trying to lace it wherever I could."

Dalton Elfrink drove in Carlyle with a double, but Bernie fought back with a run in the sixth inning on a single by Freed.

Oran will host Cooter in Monday's sectional round. The Eagles defeated Cooter 5-2 in last year's sectional round.

"Honestly, I didn't expect us to win the district tournament, but we did some good things, so I'm tickled to be here for sure," Oran coach Mitch Wood said. "We've won a few [district championships], but it's one of those things that you can't get enough of. I was nervous as a cat today, and when I quit being nervous, I'm going to quit coaching."

Bernie 003 001 1 -- 5 10 1

Oran 002 030 1 -- 6 9 2

WP -- Seth Ressel. LP -- Jesse Shelton. 2B -- Shelton 2 (B), Will Barnett (B), Devin Trammell (B), Brad Freed (B), Kody Moore (O), Ressel (O), Dalton Elfrink (O), Adam Schaefer (O). Multiple hits -- Bernie: Shelton 2-4, Barnett 2-4, Trammell 2-4, Freed 2-4; Oran: Blake Carlyle 2-4, Jacob Priggel 2-3. Records -- Bernie 10-7, Oran 17-8.