‘We knew we were going to come back.’ Madison Central shakes off deficit to win region.
A 2-0 deficit in the third inning against Sayre proved no real concern for Madison Central on Wednesday night in the 11th Region Baseball Tournament championship game at Great Crossing High School.
“We knew coming into this game that we were going to hit it,” said Matt Johns, the Indians’ top hitter with a stunning .500 regular-season average. “We’ve been hot from the get-go. … We knew we were going to come back and score. It was just a matter of time.”
Sayre’s lead didn’t last out the frame as Johns’ two-run double in the bottom of the third inning tied it and Bradley Poynter’s double two pitches later brought Johns in with the go-ahead run.
“Once I came in, I knew it was over,” Johns said.
The Indians tacked on another run in the fifth inning as Madison Central defeated the Spartans 4-2 to capture its third region title since 2015 and erase some bad memories from last season’s championship game loss.
A leadoff single by Bryson Howell and a walk to Keith Steward off Sayre starter Addison Stockham set the stage for Johns’ one-out gapper. Johns, a senior right-hander, took over on the mound in the fourth inning, marking a chance for some redemption after starting in last year’s title game.
“Last year, I got beat in the final, so I knew how it felt,” said Johns, who took the loss in 2021 against Lafayette. “I just came back and I knew we were going to win it.”
In relief of starter John Girard on Wednesday, Johns held Sayre scoreless on two hits and a walk for the last four innings.
“We had unbelievable pitch calling and my defense behind me. I mean, I might have had one strikeout and the rest were defensive gems,” Johns said.
Part of that defense was tournament most valuable player Hayden Robbins. The senior shortstop made a couple of spectacular plays Wednesday, including a running over-the-shoulder grab in short left to end the game. He had the fifth-inning RBI, and for the tournament went 7-for-11 with two doubles, a triple, five runs scored and four RBI.
“We worked so hard for this all year,” Robbins said. “You know, we came up short last year and we were able to come in this year and get a win. … We worked our tails off and this is the outcome. I’m super proud of this team.”
Sayre’s runs came after a pair of leadoff walks in the top of the third off Girard. Stockham moved Charlie Slabaugh and Raymond Saatman into scoring position with a slow grounder to first. Graham Johnson’s single to center knocked them both in.
If last year’s finals loss served as motivation for Madison Central, Sayre Coach Kevin Clary hopes the same will happen for his No. 14 Spartans (20-10), who graduate one senior and no starters off a roster that has won consecutive 42nd District titles.
“We got beat today. We didn’t give the game away. They played their guts out,” Clary said. “Hats off to Madison Central. Their shortstop made three unbelievable plays. every ball we hit hard on the nose. We hit right at them. It’s just called baseball. We’ve got nothing to hang our head over.
“I told them, ‘Remember how this feels.’ The jubilation that Madison Central has, we came really close to having that. We’re just not going to be outworked. We’re going to be back.”
No. 13 Madison Central (28-7-1) opened its season with a loss to Sayre and stumbled in early May with back-to-back losses to Highlands and No. 2 Trinity. But all that matters now is the eight-game win streak the Indians will take into next week’s state tournament.
“These guys really came together,” Coach Steve Roof said just before he got drenched in a celebration bath from the team cooler. “Our seniors were such great leaders, and I just can’t say enough about how hard they worked and just believe in the process and everything we did. It was a lot of fun.”
Madison Central moves on to the 2022 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Baseball State Tournament presented by UK HealthCare, which begins Thursday, June 2 at the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Proud Park. The Indians are scheduled to open against the 4th Region champion at 5 p.m. June 2.
State Tournament
At Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington
(Schedule listed in order of bracket)
JUNE 2
8:30 p.m.: 9th Region vs. 3rd Region
5 p.m.: 4th Region vs. Madison Central
10 a.m.: Danville vs. Boyd County
1:30 p.m.: 6th Region vs. 8th Region
JUNE 3
5 p.m.: 1st Region vs. 14th Region
8:30 p.m.: 15th Region vs. 10th Region
10 a.m.: 5th Region vs. 13th Region
1:30 p.m.: 7th Region vs. Christian County
JUNE 4
Quarterfinal games at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
JUNE 10
Semifinal games at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
JUNE 11
7 p.m.: Championship game
