It wasn't what I expected - but I was right about one thing

"I don't believe what I just saw."

Jack Buck's call of a hobbling Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run off Oakland Athletics' closer Dennis Eckersly to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers ranks as one of the top five calls in the history of sports broadcasting.

Saturday at Linton, I couldn't believe what I saw.

Never did I imagine Shakamak and Linton-Stockton would combine for 20 hits and 13 runs. Not with both teams' staff aces throwing.

The Lakers sent Braden Scott to the mound and Logan Hollingsworth got the call for the Miners.

Last week I wrote, "Might we see another '"arms race?'"

The anticipated pitchers' duel never materialized.

I fully expected a one-run ballgame between these two. But I didn't expect it to be 7-6.

Both teams pounded the ball right off the bat - literally.

In the top of the first inning Shakamak's Zack Moorman, batting second in the order, muscled up and knocked the first pitch he saw from Hollingsworth out of the park with Tanner Yeryar aboard.

Yeryar reached base on a swinging third strike. More on that later.

It could have been worse. The Lakers had Parker Green at second and Cole Sanders at first with one out but left both stranded. Both knocked the cover off the ball on hard-hit balls to left field.

Green hits it a ton.

Not to be outdone, the Miners put four runs on the board when their turn came.

And they too started "right off the bat."

Trey Passen led off with a double. Kendall Williams tripled him home. Hollingsworth fisted a pitch into right field to drive in Williams and later scored on a passed ball.

Noah Woodward reached safely on an infield hit, stole second and scored Linton-Stockton's fourth run on Garyck Russell's drive down the left field line.

And that was only the beginning.

Ever notice how "beginning" sounds like "big inning?" Not quite a classic homophone, but close.

*****

The Miners' lead was short lived. And again it was Yeryar and Moorman who got things started for the Lakers.

Both got in the way of pitches for free passes. Then Scott helped his own cause with a 2-RBI double.

Scott crossed the plate when Green tagged another smash down the left field line giving Shakamak a 5-4 lead.

The Miners didn't score again until the sixth frame.

The Lakers tacked on another in the third. Lane Gilbert was safe on a fielder's choice and came around on the first of Rylee Landry's two doubles.

Landry's second two-bagger in the sixth inning led to Shakamak's seventh run. He advanced to third on a wild pitch. Levi Webb's sacrifice fly sent Landry home.

Speaking of aiding your own cause - Hollingsworth did just that when Linton-Stockton came to bat in the sixth.

With Williams on Hollingsworth drilled a two-run shot over the fence in right center.

But that turned out to be it for the Miners.

*****

Of Shakamak's nine hits, six went for extra bases - Moorman's homer and five doubles.

Passen, Williams, Hollingsworth and Russell accounted for 10 of the Red and Blue's 11 hits.

Russell, hitting in the No. 8 spot, had a 4-for-4 day - all singles.

Every opposing coach I've talked to this season has said the same thing about the Miners - "They hit the ball up and down the lineup."

When you get four base knocks from your eight hole, you're truly "hitting the ball up and down the lineup."

*****

But other than allowing two Russell base hits and another off the bat of Williams, Scott effectively shut down the Miners in innings two through five.

And even though he surrendered 11 hits he fanned 12 and issued just one free pass.

Linton-Stockton had opportunities - and squandered a half-dozen others.

A swinging third strike, two hit batsmen and a wild pitch led directly to four Laker runs.

In a one-run game a team simply cannot hand the opponent any free runs.

"We've just got to fine-tune some things," Miner coach Matt Fougerousse said.

They do.

******

I was right about this though.

I've said since the season started Shakamak is the team to beat in the area until someone proves otherwise.

Nobody has.

As Fougerousse said, "They proved right now they might be the better team and that's fine. They're probably the favorite headed into the sectional and that's fine too. We've just got to get better at a lot of things."

These two teams are very close.

And in the words of Arte Johnson, the Class 2A sectional just got "Very interesting."

*****

Enough about the Game of the Year.

White River Valley has quietly put together the winningest season in school history.

Two victories last week gave the Wolverines 11 wins eclipsing the school's previous best of nine.

WRV's record stands at 11-5 headed into Thursday's game at conference foe Linton-Stockton.

But the Wolverines are just 2-3 in SWIAC play with losses to Clay City, Shakamak and Bloomfield.

And they've had a few head-scratching losses.

WRV committed 10 errors leading to 14 unearned runs in a 17-1 loss at Northeast Dubois. Six errors - and just two hits - contributed to an 8-0 shutout loss to Clay City.

"That is as bad as it gets, we cannot play any worse baseball than we just did," coach Chris Cornelius said after the Clay City loss.

And they lost 4-2 at Bloomfield in a game Cornelius admitted, "We didn't show up ready to play."

The Wolverines notched win number 11 last Friday at North Daviess.

Bit the 11th win didn't come easily. Former Shakamak catcher Steven McNabb's young Cougar squad - McNabb's lineup features six freshmen who see extensive playing time - pushed the Wolverines to extra innings. WRV finally prevailed 5-4 in nine innings.

North Daviess may be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. Cornelius commented, "Steven's got a lot to look forward to."

*****

Bloomfield's hot streak came to an abrupt halt last Friday at Eastern Greene.

The Cardinals had won six of seven before the T-Birds pounded them 12-4.

When Cardinal coach Jason Pegg submitted the game summary he included the comment, ""Not going to take away from Eastern, but I think this was the worst game we've played. All year. Didn't hit, pitch, or field it at all."

I bet if I'd interviewed Pegg personally he would have sounded a lot like Jim Mora.

Caleb Hamilton accounted for four of Eastern Greene's runs with his second grand slam of the week.

I said over a month ago Hamilton had the look of a star in the making. I may have been right about that too.

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached at 847-4487. Follow him on Twitter @TSchwing32.

Terry's Weekly Rankings

1. Shakamak (11-7, 5-0)

2. Linton-Stockton (11-6, 5-1)

3. White River Valley (11-5, 2-3)

4. Eastern Greene (5-8, 2-3)

5. Bloomfield (6-9, 2-4)

NOTE: Records through May 9