Walk off homer from Colson Lawrence caps Wild comeback for Crackers
6/25/2022
Down 8 to 1 in the 6th inning, the Crackers mount a comeback on Saturday that concluded with a thrilling 10th inning 2 run walk off home run from Colton Lawrence to beat the Wild Things 11-9.
After being held to only one run through five innings by Waleska starter Brock Weiss, the Crackers mounted a 6 run, 6th inning attack that included a 2 run home run from third baseman Shane Newsome and bases clearing triple from Colson Lawrence. Jamarie Brooks provided a 2 strike sacrifice fly to drive in the 6th run of the inning making it an 8-7 game.
Cracker manager Kevin Meistickle on the sixth inning comeback. “It’s says something about the character of our team. I think the feeling within our team was that they (Waleska) thought the game was over already, at least it looked like they did to a lot of guys. That sort of sparked us. That 2 run home run by Newsome was big. It started pulling us in a little bit. Guys start believing in what’s happening and the next thing you know, we’re back in it. Once we scored those runs and got within 2 runs, the energy stayed up. Every guy we put into the game did what they needed to do.”
The Crackers would then rely on their bullpen to try and hold Waleska to the one run lead. Side armed reliever Ryan Whitener would shut down the WildThings in the 7th allowing just a walk while striking out two. Ryan Suppa would continue his excellent relief pitching with a scoreless eighth and ninth to hold the score.
The bottom of the ninth would start with catcher Charlie Tull being retired on a ground out to shortstop. Then Brody Parkerson would pinch hit coming off the bench and double to left field. He’d advance to 3rd base on a single from Shane Newsome and later score on an error, making it 8-8 going into extra innings.
The SBL uses the extra inning rule again this year with placing a runner at second base. Waleska would score a run in the 10th to once again pull ahead 9-8. Cracker reliever Sam Smith was called on to pitch the 10th inning allowing a hit and a run.
The bottom of the 10th would start with Jared White at 2nd base. Cam Suto would single to left scoring White to once again tie the game. That set the stage for Colson Lawrence. Lawrence would smash a Logan Lynch breaking pitch above the homerun line and high off the left field wall at Kennesaw to complete a wild come from behind win for the Crackers.
Kevin Meistickle on Lawrence’s walk off homerun; “He leads the league in home runs and I can see why. Every time he is up, he has a chance to put one out. Opposing pitchers know about him. Colson’s definitely a prospect to get drafted. He has all the tools including size, an arm, raw power and good speed for a big guy. He’s 6’5” 225. He’s a real prospect.”
The Crackers return to action Friday, July 1st for a rematch against Waleska. First pitch set for 7:05 PM from Reinhart University – Cracker Baseball
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