Spartans tame Panthers, end Cinderella run

• Alexander scored 5 runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Southeastern%2C 5-3.
• Southeastern%27s Justin Dye pitched 5 shutout innings%2C allowing just 3 hits%2C in the loss.
• The Panthers end their season at 14-10%2C with a 9-2 in their last 11 contests.

CHILLICOTHE – Midnight has struck and the Cinderella story has come to a close.

As stunning as Southeastern's 7-6 win over River Valley in a Division III district semifinal was just two days ago, the loss the Panthers suffered to Alexander in the district final contest was equally as heartbreaking.

In the Panthers' last contest, the team rallied for five seventh inning runs to steal a victory. Friday night, the tables were turned as the second-seeded Spartans (24-4) rallied for five scores in the top of the seventh, to snatch a district crown from No. 8 Southeastern, 5-3.

"We sat down today and talked about what we needed to do to win this ballgame," Southeastern coach John Evans said. "We said to win, we had to minimize errors and limit the walks on the mound and our guys did just that. We played a heck of a baseball game. Alexander is an outstanding ball club. There's a reason they were a number two seed. For six innings, we were the better team."

The Panthers — who without question earned their way into the contest after beating Huntington, Adena and River Valley — gave junior lefty Justin Dye the start on the bump. Dye returned the favor by throwing five dominant, shutout innings while holding the Spartans' offense to just three hits.

While Dye kept dealing, the Panthers' offense gave him a lead.

In the bottom of the second, shortstop Owen Diehl led off with a single before teammates Matt Morris and Rex Hartman later reached base via walk. With one out, sophomore Tanner Popp grounded into an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Diehl and giving Southeastern an early 1-0 lead.

That lead would grow to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Hartman was hit by pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt via Popp and scored on an Alec Pinkerton RBI single — after Dye was intentionally walked.

In the bottom of the fifth, Southeastern was able to tack on one additional run. Senior Cole Johnson started a string of four consecutive singles that ended with a RBI base knock from Morris, scoring Zach Ratliff — who came on to pinch run for Johnson — making it 3-0, Panthers.

Dye exited after the fifth, giving way to Popp. The sophomore righty logged an 11 pitch 1-2-3 sixth inning and took the 3-0 advantage into the top of the seventh, three outs away from a regional semifinal berth.

However, this time, the baseball Gods didn't decide in Southeaster's favor.

Alexander's Mason Chapman flew out to center to begin the inning, giving way for Cory Chapman to reach base with a single. On the next pitch, Kyle Howard grounded a ball to second that looked like a tailor made double play ball. Instead, Southeastern committed their first error of the ballgame and the most costly of their 2015 campaign.

With runners on first and second, Aric Russell singled to load the bases before leadoff hitter Lukas Thompson got the Spartans on the board with a two run single. Trailing 3-2, Brody McGrath then proceeded to tie the game at three with an RBI single to score Russell.

Chace Harris stepped to the plate next and, with runners on the corners, sent a fly ball to right field, deep enough to score Thompson, giving the Spartansn their first lead of the ballgame at 4-3. The fifth Spartans' run would come on the same play via a throwing error.

Southeastern (14-10) would go down in order during their last at bat.

"I can't say anything but positives about these ballplayers," Evans said. "We had some high goals coming into this season and they were high goals. Our goal was to just get here to the VA and into district play. We were three outs from a district title. But that's these guys' personality. There was a time during this season where these guys could've given up. But that didn't happen. They bonded and gelled and wins started to come. We want to be right back here next season."

At the plate, Diehl led the Panthers, going 3-4 with a triple and a run. Pinkerton followed at 2-4 with an RBI while Morris was 1-3 with an RBI.

For Alexander, McGrath had a 3-4 night that included a double, RBI and a run while Thompson went 1-4 with two RBIs and a run.

Next season, the Panthers will bring back a platoon of returning starters. However, that group will not include three graduating seniors — Cole Johnson, Alec Pinkerton and Cody Hendershot.

"I just love our three seniors," Evans said. "Our main goal as a coaching staff was to make them better men and better people. You can't ask more from those three seniors and the perseverance they've shown this year. This team has been through so much and they've stood strong through it all."

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509