One parent called them the heart attack kids, but that name might only fit for their fans and their manager.
The Manhattan Manko 17ers were too calm under pressure in Monday’s Legion Class A State championship for that moniker. Manhattan rallied from a two-run deficit in the seventh inning to beat KC Post 199 Varsity 4-3 for the state title.
While the players said they knew they could come back, not everyone else was as convinced. They had scored only one run on four hits in the first six innings. Plus, they had to bounce back from watching a 1-1 game turn into a two-run lead in the top of the seventh, when KC Varsity took the lead and the momentum.
“Two runs is something that I felt we could come back from,” Manhattan manager Aaron Wall said. “But the way they’d been pitching, I didn’t have a lot of hope. But they proved me wrong.”
Trey Francis provided the key hit that made the 17ers believe they could rally. Francis hit a blooper that just snuck inside the right field line for an RBI double. Francis advanced the tying run to third base, and he represented the winning run at second.
After KC Varsity walked Ben Jung to load the bases — setting up a double play possibility — Jed Smith smacked a fastball into center field.
Taylor Hilgers came in from third to tie the game, and Wall sent Francis, going for the win.
“I knew that once I rounded third, I was going to have to book it to make it home,” Francis said.
KC center fielder Destry Bryan made a good throw, but it bounced up in the air at the plate just as Francis slid across.
Manhattan had a chance to finish KC Varsity off for the championship on Monday. KC Varsity made the title game out of the loser’s bracket — the one loss was a 14-3 blowout to Manhattan on Sunday — and Manhattan could not close out, losing to KC Varsity 8-0.
The roles were reversed on Tuesday, with KC Varsity resembling the team that had a chance to deliver the knockout blow.
Manhattan took an early lead on Smith’s RBI single in the first inning, but after the first, KC pitcher Bryan Rezin was nearly unhittable.
The 17ers didn’t get a base runner past second base over the next five innings, and Rezin struck out six in 5 2/3 innings.
KC Varsity, meanwhile, had plenty of chances to give Rezin a big lead but could never capitalize. KC left four runners on base in the first three innings as Manhattan held onto its 1-0 lead.
Taran Carlisle led off the fourth inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With Manhattan pitcher Caleb Dugan in the windup, Nathan Quigley tried to lay down a squeeze bunt. Dugan saw the runner going and threw high. Quigley missed and Manhattan catcher Brooks Lindsay tagged Carlisle out at home.
“They’re just trying to put some pressure on us, and Caleb did a good job of recognizing it,” Wall said. “We tell him if the squeeze is coming on, throw the ball high and he did a good job of that, and we didn’t let them get the squeeze down.”
KC Varsity finally tied the game in the fifth. Alex McGinnis led off with a walk and moved to third on Rezin’s one-out double. Bryan hit a chopper up the middle that scored McGinnis. Francis realized he could not get the runner at home and wisely threw Bryan out at first. Matt Wolley followed and grounded out to Francis, who kept the game tied at 1 thanks to his back-to-back putouts.
KC Varsity had a chance to add onto its lead in the sixth when Nick Cavlovic and Carlisle led off with back-to-back singles. Wall pulled Dugan after the singles, and Dillon Mack got the 17ers out of the jam, getting a groundout and two strikeouts to keep the game tied.
KC Varsity finally broke through in the seventh, scoring two runs on three singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 3-1 lead.
“Oh boy, we coasted way too long,” Smith remembered thinking.
But J.D. Garetson and Taylor Hilgers led off the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles, setting the table for Francis and Smith to win the game.
Smith went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Manhattan. Wolley and Carlisle led KC Varsity with two hits apiece.
Manhattan moves on to this week’s regional tournament back at Soden’s Grove. KC Varsity will not play in the tournament. The 17ers open Thursday at 10 a.m. against the Northridge Grizzlies from Colorado.
Legion state tournament
Tuesday at Soden’s Grove
Manhattan Manko 4, KC Varsity 3
KC 000 010 2 — 3 10 3
Manhattan 100 000 3 — 4 8 1
WP — Mack. LP — Patton.
2B — KC: Rezin, Carlisle; MAN: Francis.