Central tops Auburn with wild finish

In a wild affair that went back and forth for the entire game, it was only fitting that the game wasn’t in hand until the very last play of the game.

After scoring a run in the top half of the eighth inning to go ahead by one run, Central made a play at the plate for the third out in the bottom half to hang on for a 12-11 win over Auburn to open Area 3-7A play.

Auburn, which has already played a three-game series against Smiths Station, is 2-2 overall in Area 3-7A play, while Central is 1-0. The two teams meet for a doubleheader on Thursday at Central.

“I’m just glad we got out of here with a win,” Central coach Bobby Howard said after the wild victory. “It’s just one game. We’re not celebrating over it. We know they’re a good team, and we’ve got to face them again twice tomorrow.”

But facing them having won on Wednesday is going to be a lot better than if Central had let the game slip away.

The Red Devils trailed 4-1 going into the fifth inning but finally broke out the bats with a seven-run frame.

After a strikeout to open the inning, the next six Red Devils batters all reached. Dayton Edmonds walked and Wade Chandler followed with a single. Slade Gorman then knocked an RBI single to cut the Auburn lead to 4-2. After Evan Baber walked to load the bases, Tanner Belcher hit a long grand slam to right-center field to put Central on top 6-4.

Central wasn’t done there. Jermond Williams walked and, after Noah Wilkes lined out for the second out of the inning, Jackson Cook hit a two-run home run to make it 8-4.

After Auburn scored two runs in the bottom half of the fifth to cut it to 8-6, Central added three more in the sixth to go ahead by five runs, 11-6. Travis Moore hit a two-RBI single with one out in the inning, scoring Baber and Belcher.

But Auburn just wouldn’t go away. The Tigers scored three runs in the bottom half of that inning and two more in the seventh to tie the game at 11-11. They had the bases loaded when Central recorded the final two outs of the inning to escape and force extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Baber scored on an RBI single by Williams to put Central ahead 12-11. Of course, a one-run lead was far from safe in a game like Wednesday’s. Cook, who earned the win in the game, got the first two batters of the bottom of the eighth, a ground out by Brooks Fuller and a strikeout of Rawlins Cleveland.

With two outs, though, Morgan Brown singled for Auburn, and Rowdy Jordan followed with another single. Brown tried to come around to score on the play, which was a popup that found grass in right field. Williams threw a strike to Gorman, however, and Gorman held on to the ball despite being run over by Brown. The game ended with the out, but the dugouts cleared with angry players and coaches, and angry parents could be heard arguing in the stands, as well.

In the end, the umpires cleared the field without incident.

“We just didn’t give up,” Howard said. “Slade made a good play there at the end. That’s a tough play. I’m just glad we got out of here with a win.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Central tops Auburn with wild finish."