Another one slips away for Red Springs
Smithfield-Selma scores with two outs in the ninth to beat Red Robins, 3-2
By Chase Murphy | The Robesonian Summer Intern | Tuesday, July 15
I had the story read to go. The magical tale of a pitcher no one had ever heard coming in to play the hero for Red Springs in place of an injured star.
But then the hero-to-be walked a guy with two outs. Then he gave up one bad hit to a scrub. And then Red Springs didn't have an answer on offense. And then the bullpen started acting like the shaky staff from early in the season.
Alas, now I'm sitting here in a musty press box in Smithfield just before 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night -- hungry, angry and frankly nauseous -- writing about another Red Springs heartbreak. Just when the division lead was there for the taking again. Just when Sanford lost again.
The basics: Smithfield-Selma 3, Red Springs 2.
The Leafs scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Usually reliable setup man
Bill Lane walked the bases loaded after striking out the side on eight pitches in the eighth. Manager
Elijah Crabtree hesitated about taking Lane out.
At first, he was going to leave him in. They he changed his mind and called for
Matt Brooks out of the dugout. On a 3-2 count, Smithfield-Selma's
Joe Salerno stroked a single through the left side. It would have been a ball anyways. Game over.
So what about this almost hero for Red Springs?
His name is
Kyle Blankenhorn. He's from Tarboro. He's 29 years old (so this will be his last year of eligibility to play in the Tobacco State League) and he didn't get drafted back in the spring. No one picked him during spring training or after the season started or as the weeks clicked off into July.
I'm still not sure how Red Springs found him to be honest. Something about him bussing tables at Waffle House in Tarboro and playing church league softball on Friday nights. But with two starters down due to injury - one for the season and one for the next week with back spasms - the Red Robins were desperate for anyone who could eat innings. And suddenly Blankenhorn appeared on today's lineup card in the 9 hole.
He was Paul Skenes incarnate in the first inning. Three up. Three down. Three strikeouts. Blankenhorn got through the next three innings with no damage. I started mentally preparing my hero narrative with the score Red Springs 2, Smithfield-Selma 0. Surely the Robins would add a few more scores, and the bullpen would close things out.
Then in the bottom of the fifth, Blankenhorn gave up a leadoff single to
Chad Savine, and I got a bad feeling. But the Robins got the next two outs and just needed to retire Leafs pitcher
Brent Duffy to wrap up the inning. The pitcher! I smiled. I shouldn't have.
Blankenhorn lost him on five pitches.
Mike Mowery, his batting average a mere .167 on the season, stepped to the plate. I knew he was going to impersonate Pete Alonso (who had just hit a three-run HR in the All-Star Game playing on TVs in the press box). I just knew it. Sure enough, Mowery bashed a line-drive triple to the fence (he'll probably never hit a ball that hard again). Two runs in. Tie game. Me erasing draft one of my story and opening a new document on the laptop.
Red Springs never really threated again, the bullpen collapsed in the ninth and well, did I mention that I was nauseous?
Tobacco State League scoreboard | July 15
Smithfield-Selma 3, Red Springs 2
Warsaw 6, Angier-Fuquay Springs 2
Dunn-Erwin 5, Sanford 2
Clinton 9, Rockingham 4
Lumberton 5, Whiteville 0
Tobacco State League standings | 7 games to play
Sanford 27-20
Red Springs 26-21
Warsaw 26-21
Whiteville 26-21
Lumberton 25-22
Clinton 24-23
Smithfield-Selma 21-26
Angier-Fuquay Springs 21-26
Dunn-Erwin 20-27
Rockingham 19-28
Next Up For Red Springs
Game 3 vs. Smithfield-Selma | July 16
Red Robins pitcher TBD. Maybe Blankenhorn's church league teammate.