By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – To err is human, and umpires qualify. Even in this age of technological advances and capabilities, they’re an integral part of the judgment element that gives baseball its eternal charm. To win is divine, even with a little controversy, and Bedford North Lawrence recorded a victory that met the eligibility of both categories.
The Stars slid past Seymour 5-4 on Monday afternoon, an outcome that will be remembered for its final play. That’s how close these Hoosier Hills Conference and Class 4A sectional rivals are, with identical records prior to the clash, with a bang-bang decision at home plate deciding the winner and loser.
Seymour’s tying run was cut down in a cloud of turf pellets when BNL catcher Tate Tanksley chased down a pitch that had popped out of his glove and bounced a few feet behind him. As he scampered to retrieve it, Seymour’s Bret Perry was charging down the third-base line, while BNL relief pitcher Cal Gates dashed in to cover the plate. Perry, Gates and the ball intersected at virtually the same time. The umpire’s instant decision? Out. The Stars celebrated while the Owls argued.
Video replay is now part of Major League Baseball. It’s not part of the high school game. After the pellet dust had settled and the teams had convened to discuss the outcome, video indicated Perry’s hand had touched the plate just before Gates slapped the tag. But there’s no reviews, and no argument Seymour could make.
The debatable finish overshadowed a classic, with quality pitching, with clutch two-out hitting, with raw power and swing sweetness from Gates, who was involved in almost every major moment. Bottom line? BNL will take the tough triumph, Seymour will have to accept the tough call.
“We knew it would be a battle,” BNL coach Jeff Callahan said. “We did just enough to win.”
The prelude to the last out featured some excellence. The Owls (5-2) scored twice in the first on singles by Brady Harpe and Perry, and a two-out double to center by Jack Pennington. BNL answered in the first when Gates crushed the first strike he saw from Seymour starter Braden Richey for a monster home run to center. The Stars threatened more but failed to score after loading the bases with no outs.
BNL (6-1) broke through for three more in the second. A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases again, and this time Maddox Ray slashed a two-run double. Gates later scored on a wild pitch for a 4-2 lead.
BNL starter Walker Ward settled in after the rocky start and hurled three straight scoreless innings, striking out 8. Gates came on in the fifth, and the Stars added another run in the bottom of that frame when Gates was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Seymour made it interesting in its final two chances. In the sixth, with two outs, Aaron Holt hammered a two-run double to left center. In the seventh, Perry was hit by a pitch and Michael Wright walked with two outs. Both runners moved up with stolen bases, setting the stage for a 0-2 pitch to Pennington that got away and caused the chaos and controversy.
“I thought our kid slid up into their pitcher, he was on his way up,” Seymour coach Jeremy Richey said. “It’s a bad call, but we didn’t help ourselves in other innings, to put ourselves in that position. We’ll live with that call and not make excuses.”
Gates had two hits, two RBIs and scored twice. He also fanned six in three innings on the mound.
“I’ve been working on trying to adjust to faster pitching,” said Gates, on his way to Indiana University after he graduates in 2025. “All that work paid off. I just have to get my head right. Pitching, that’s where I like to be, I like the tough situations. That’s where I feel the most confidence.”
BNL allowed a lot of scoring chances to slip away, leaving 11 on base. The Ward-Gates pitching duo made the runs count.
“That’s baseball,” Callahan said. “You don’t always get them in. Walker was a little amped up, but he settled down and hung zeroes. Cal hasn’t pitched a lot, he’s a competitor and wants to win.”
Pennington had two hits for the Owls.
“We did a nice job of getting some big hits when we needed it,” Richey said. “That’s been our thing to this point. But we have to be better, the seven strikeouts looking is the part that hurts. We want to be aggressive with this, we’re going to swing the bats. That’s something we will work on.
“That’s two good teams. They have a bunch of seniors, and we’re playing juniors. Their seniors battled, especially at the plate. Braden didn’t have his best stuff, and they made him battle.”
And it all came down to a instant decision at the plate.
“That’s part of it,” Callahan said. “Good call, bad call, umpires are human. It’s part of the game.”
Gates just smiled a little slyly when asked his opinion of the final play.
“It was a really close play,” he said. “A W is a W.”
BNL will host Center Grove on Tuesday.
