Brandon Little had been jammed once already with the bases loaded, and he sure wasn’t going to let it happen again.
Little’s two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning of Game One helped spark Emporia, as the AAAs rallied from a three-run, last-inning deficit to take a 6-5 victory over Burlington on Sunday.
Emporia also won the second game, 15-10, to complete its first doubleheader sweep of the season.
“We showed a little fight,” Little said. “We just needed a big hit to get going — something to blow it up.”
Little ended up doing just that in his final at-bat of Game One.
With two outs in the seventh, he learned from old mistakes against Burlington pitcher Ben Burke.
In Little’s previous at-bat, Burke busted him with a fastball inside. With a late swing, Little could only muster a soft liner at the second baseman.
The right-handed hitter was more prepared for his final plate appearance.
“I decided I was going to get around and hit one hard,” Little said. “He threw one up and in, and I got around on it pretty good.”
The Emporia outfielder laced the pitch down the left-field line, scoring two and cutting the Burlington lead to 5-4.
Emporia received some good fortune to win it, as Derek Krause’s slow grounder to third was thrown away by Beau Smith.
Harrison Stone scored the tying run, and Little came home with the game-winner.
“We put a little pressure on them,” Emporia coach Aaron Lechien said, “and that ended up paying off for us in the end.”
The AAAs won despite falling into a hole created mostly by themselves.
Burlington took the lead with a four-run fourth against Emporia starter Jared Krause, but just one of those runs was earned.
Emporia had a dropped flyball in the outfield and also had a blooper drop between a pair of fielders in center.
The AAAs also had their struggles against Burke, who struck out 11 batters through the first 4 2/3 innings.
Burke ended with 13 strikeouts in his 6 2/3 innings pitched.
Emporia still managed the victory, as walks to Michael Knight and Stone and a single from Cameron Smith set the table for the seventh-inning dramatics.
“Hats off to the guys for coming back,” Lechien said. “We even got to our last out and still had enough fight and desire to win.”
Zach Gifford, Little and Jared Krause contributed two hits each in Game One.
The AAAs’ offense was more consistent in the nightcap, as the team rallied from a four-run, first-inning deficit.
Emporia took the lead with five runs in the second, as Gifford and Jared Krause came through with RBI singles before a two-run double from Clark.
The AAAs scored in each inning after that, though things still became tense in the fifth.
Burlington posted five runs to trim the Emporia lead to 10-9 and had two runners on and one out before Lechien turned to relief pitcher Nick Riggs.
The right-hander struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam.
“Nick came through huge for us today,” Lechien said. “We only had a few arms left, and he took the ball and got the job done for us.”
Clark and Gifford led the Emporia bats, as both went 4-for-5.
Gifford added a stolen base and three runs scored from the leadoff spot in the order.
“I’m just basically up there looking to hit the ball instead of looking for walks,” Gifford said. “If it’s there, I swing.”
Clark added a double and four RBI, while Jared Krause contributed three hits of his own.
Emporia was swept in its doubleheader at K.C. Piper on Saturday, losing 9-4 and 11-3 decisions.
Sunday at Soden’s Grove
Game One
Emporia AAAs 6, Burlington 5
Burlington 000 400 1 — 5 6 4 Emporia AAAs 001 100 4 — 6 9 4
W — Jared Krause. L — Ben Burke.
2B — Emporia: Brandon Little. SB — Burlington: Trevor Smith; Emporia: Zach Gifford, Taylor Clark, Michael Knight. Emporia AAA highlights — Brandon Little 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, GW run; Zach Gifford 2-4, SB, R; Jared Krause 2-4.
Game Two
Emporia AAAs 15 Burlington 10
Burlington 400 050 1 — 10 12 6
Emporia AAAs 053 214 X — 15 14 2
W — Cameron Smith. L — Beau Smith. Sv — Nick Riggs.
2B — Burlington: Chyler Ludolph; Emporia: Taylor Clark, Cameron Smith. SB — Burlington: James Iseman; Emporia: Zach Gifford, Clark, C. Smith 2, Brandon Little. Emporia AAA highlights — Zach Gifford 4-5, SB, 3 R; Taylor Clark 4-5 2B, SB, 4 RBI; Jared Krause 3-4, sac, R, 3 RBI; Cameron Smith 2-5, 2B, 2 SB, R.