Spartans refuse to panic, rally to beat Gorman and move to title game

Cimarron-Memorial baseball coach B.J. Clayton watched his team dig a 6-2 hole through six innings Friday night, but refused to allow his players to panic.

Clayton, leading the team in head coach Mike Hubel’s absence, knew the Spartans were capable of putting together big innings. So he waited.

The coach’s patience paid off, as third-seeded Cimarron rallied for five runs in the eighth inning and held off No. 2 Bishop Gorman for a 9-6 victory in the semifinal round of the American Legion state tournament at UNLV’s Wilson Stadium. The win lifted the Spartans into Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game, where they will face Liberty.

Trevor Lippard went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead Cimarron, which defeated the Titans for the second time in as many days.

“I thought we came out really flat,” Clayton said. “I don’t know why. But I’m proud of the guys for responding.”

The Spartans wasted no time in seizing the lead, as leadoff hitter Logan Bottrell lined the game’s first pitch into center field. The ball was misplayed by Titans center fielder Cole Krzmarzick, rolling to the wall and allowing Bottrell to score to give Cimarron a 1-0 lead.

Gorman tied it in the bottom of the inning, but Parker McHale led off the third with a triple and came home on a one-out fielder’s choice to give Cimarron a 2-1 lead.

That advantage did not last long as consecutive doubles by Michael Blasko, Cole Krzmarzick and Nick Gates, and a scoring fly ball by Andrew Newson gave the Titans a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third. Krzmarzick’s RBI double in the fourth extended Gorman’s lead to 5-2.

Gorman starter Chris Fredricksen cruised until allowing the Spartans to pull within 6-3 with a run on three hits in the seventh. He escaped further damage, but that damage came an inning later off reliever Austin Cram.

The Spartans jumped on Cram and fellow reliever Gates in the top of the eighth for five runs on five hits to take an 8-6 lead. Lippard capped the wild inning with a two-run double to left field.

“It helped that we got rid of (Fredricksen),” Clayton said. “We got a couple of hits, and everyone started believing. That really got the guys fired up.”

Cimarron scored an insurance run in the ninth and reliever Larry Quaney retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save.

“Tonight was more of a game we’re used to playing,” Clayton said. “We’re not used to playing in slugfests like Gorman is. This was more of our style.”

Ryan McHale went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI to help the Spartans.

Gates went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI to lead the Titans.