By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – Mitchell High School beat Loogootee in walk-off fashion on Thursday, but that was not the biggest cause for celebration at Gary Seitzinger Field that night.
The two teams faced off on what was designated as Cancer Awareness Night, with five-year-old Harbor Webb throwing out the first pitch before the game.
After a nearly two-year battle with pediatric cancer, Webb, the daughter of Andy and Jordan Webb, is now cancer free.
She was diagnosed with a Ganglioneuroblastoma tumor in her neck on June 28, 2021, meaning part of her tumor was benign and part of her tumor was cancerous.
Webb’s cancer was Stage 2B and localized to her neck and the lymph nodes in her neck. Then, on July 16, 2021, her family found out that due to the size and placement of her tumor, she would need to undergo a few rounds of chemotherapy treatments before the tumor could be removed.
On July 26, 2021, Webb was admitted to Riley Children’s Hospital for port placement, a bone marrow biopsy, and three days worth of chemo treatments. She was released two days later, just one day before her fourth birthday.
After returning to Riley in August for another round of chemo and again in September for MBIG scans, Webb underwent extensive seven-hour surgery on Oct. 13, 2021, to remove a softball size tumor and all of the lymph nodes on the right side of her neck.
The surgery was successful, though Webb needed an extensive recovery process afterward, because of the tumor’s location, which was surrounded by and pressing on many very important nerves and muscles that control swallowing, eating, and talking. During this time, Webb was required to use a feeding tube for months, along with weekly visits to a speech therapist.
Now, Webb is entirely cancer free and receives routine scans every 6 months at Riley.
She was able to throw out the first pitch on Thursday at Mitchell High School, where over $15,000 had been raised for her over the past four years, in front of her grandfather, Butch Porter, a former Bluejackets baseball player in the early 80s.
Bluejackets complete late rally for dramatic win
After a slow start against Loogootee, the Bluejackets entered the bottom of the sixth down 4-1, with just two innings left to make up the ground.
They loaded the bases to start the inning, with an RBI single from Bryson Zeeks, and a walk was drawn by Kody Earl scoring two runs for Mitchell before an out had even been recorded. They managed to tie the game later in the inning off a sacrifice fly from Simon Gaines heading into the final inning.
With Gaines at the mound, he and the Bluejacket’s defense executed a perfect seventh, holding the Lions scoreless after recording three straight outs.
Ben Seitzinger led things off in the bottom of the seventh for Mitchell with a base hit. He was followed by Carsyn Herald, who earned a free pass to first after a walk, setting things up for the next batter, Gibson Glassco, who smashed a ground ball to left field for a single, giving way for Seitzinger to score the winning run.
This victory marks 18 on the season for the Bluejackets, topping their total from the previous year. After a tournament on Saturday, hosted a Mitchell, the team only has four remaining games before they head into the postseason to face South Knox (16-4) in the opening sectional round.
Stats
Loogooteemore stats
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Brittain | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaac Waggner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Drew Walker | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Luke Lengacher | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Tedrow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Leighton Jeffers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mason Britton | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Koen Waggner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Parker Arvin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 26 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
Batting2B: Luke Lengacher, Lucas Brittain, Drew Walker
TB: Luke Lengacher 2, Leighton Jeffers, Lucas Brittain 3, Drew Walker 3, Mason Britton
RBI: Drew Walker, Mason Britton
SAC: Isaac Waggner
ROE: Mason Britton
FC: Koen Waggner, Lucas Brittain, Drew Walker
HBP: Luke Lengacher
SB: Lucas Brittain, Drew Walker
CS: Isaac Waggner
TotalsTeam QAB: 14 (41.18%)
Jacob Tedrow 2, Luke Lengacher 2, Leighton Jeffers 2, Lucas Brittain, Drew Walker 3, Isaac Waggner 3, Mason Britton
Team LOB: 9
Mitchellmore stats
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Gaines | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| AJ Sarver | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Seitzinger | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carsyn Herald | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Gibson Glassco | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Turner | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryson Zeeks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kody Earl | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ashton Luman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Connor Teague | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aiden Premo | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 26 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Batting2B: Ben Seitzinger, Bryson Zeeks
TB: Simon Gaines, Gibson Glassco 2, Ben Seitzinger 3, Ethan Turner, Bryson Zeeks 4
RBI: Kody Earl, Simon Gaines, Gibson Glassco, Carsyn Herald, Bryson Zeeks
SF: Simon Gaines
FC: Kody Earl
SB: Kody Earl, Simon Gaines, Connor Teague
TotalsTeam QAB: 19 (59.38%)
Kody Earl, Simon Gaines 3, Gibson Glassco, Carsyn Herald 4, Ashton Luman 2, AJ Sarver 2, Ben Seitzinger 3, Bryson Zeeks 3
Team LOB: 7FieldingE: Simon Gaines
DP: Kody Earl
Loogooteemore stats
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Waggner | 5.0 | 84 | .595 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Mason Britton | 1.0 | 41 | .488 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Drew Walker | 0.0 | 2 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 6.0 | 127 | .567 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
PitchingPitches-Strikes: Drew Walker 2-2, Isaac Waggner 84-50, Mason Britton 41-20
Groundouts-Flyouts: Drew Walker 0-0, Isaac Waggner 6-3, Mason Britton 0-2
First pitch strikes-Batters faced: Drew Walker 1-1, Isaac Waggner 14-23, Mason Britton 4-8
Mitchellmore stats
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Luman | 3.0 | 50 | .560 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Connor Teague | 1.0 | 26 | .308 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Simon Gaines | 3.0 | 30 | .867 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 106 | .585 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
PitchingW: Simon Gaines
HBP: Ashton Luman
Pitches-Strikes: Simon Gaines 30-26, Ashton Luman 50-28, Connor Teague 26-8
Groundouts-Flyouts: Simon Gaines 3-2, Ashton Luman 2-1, Connor Teague 0-2
First pitch strikes-Batters faced: Simon Gaines 9-11, Ashton Luman 11-17, Connor Teague 2-6
