As Gavin Lones was doing his best on the mound to will his Indian Lake baseball team to a tournament win Wednesday, he was also called on to provide a lift at the plate with his team trailing late against Valley View.
Lones delivered in a big way, belting a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally the host Lakers to a 3-2 victory in a Division III sectional semifinal game.
It was Lones’ only at bat of the day. The Lakers originally used a designated hitter in Lones’ spot in the order.
However, Indian Lake head coach Ryan Lillard removed the designated hitter in the sixth inning and elected to let Lones hit as the Lakers had a runner on base with no outs, trailing 2-1.
Lones, who had 28 at bats on the season coming into Wednesday’s game, launched a towering homer over the left-field fence, giving the Lakers a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
It was Lones’ first home run of the season. He hit two last year.
“Gavin is one of our best hitters,” said Lillard. “But with his injury this year, it’s been tough for him to hit when he’s pitching, too.
“When the opportunity came up (in the sixth inning), he wanted to hit. He’s a competitor. Baseball is about taking advantage of your moments, and we did that in the sixth inning today.”
Lones also showed his grit on the mound. The lefty allowed just three hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight and walking two.
Valley View (14-15) put a pair of runners on with two outs in the top of the seventh, and with Lones sitting at over 100 pitches on the day, Burke Lillard came on in relief and recorded a strikeout to end the game.
“I would have loved for Gavin to finish the game, but I don’t feel real comfortable when we are around that 100-pitch mark,” said Lillard. “He’s going to pitch in college next year and I would never want to risk his health. I feel confident with anybody we put on the mound, and Burke came in and got the job done.”
The second-seeded Lakers (18-8) will host fifth-seeded Versailles (16-11) in the sectional final Monday.
Valley View, the 10th seed, proved to be a feisty opponent for the Lakers.
The Spartans scratched out a run in the first inning to lead 1-0 and they added another run in the top of the second for a 2-0 advantage.
Indian Lake plated a run in the bottom of the second to make the score 2-1. It stayed that way until Lones came through with his big blast in the sixth.
“One of the things we have preached all year is resiliency,” said Lillard. “I think that is something that has resonated with our guys. As long as we have an at bat left, we always feel like we have a chance to win the game.
“Hats off to Valley View. They showed up ready to play and gave us everything we wanted.”
Chase Baldwin had two of Indian Lake’s four hits and Lane Tucci added an RBI for the Lakers, who now turn their attention to facing Versailles on Monday.
“We have to play better defensively,” said Lillard. “We also have to get timely hitting.”
INDIANLAKE 3, VALLEY VIEW 2
Spartans 110 000 0 — 2 3 3
Lakers 010 002 X — 3 4 4
WP—Lones; LP—Grant; SV—B. Lillard.