Drew Parker’s heart was beating faster than he can remember.
The Chipola (Fla.) Junior College starting pitcher came in and closed out the Indians’ 14-12 victory over Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) College in the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series on Monday night at Suplizio Field.
“My heart was beating really fast,” Parker said. “That was the first time I’ve closed a game all year.”
The freshman right-hander has been the ace of the Indians (38-17) and was supposed to get the day off, but volunteered to pitch in the ninth with the tying run at first base with two outs.
“Out here, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Chipola coach Jeff Johnson said. “Drew said to me in the eighth, ‘I’ll finish it for you, Coach.’ ”
Parker did, throwing four of five pitches over 90 mph to strike out clean-up hitter Phillip Morgan.
Parker was needed after Kevin McCoy was beginning to tire.
McCoy, who picked up the Indians’ save Saturday, shut down Spartanburg’s rally in the seventh, but walked the first batter he faced in the ninth. He gave up a RBI double, but bounced back to strike out the next two batters.
Spartanburg Methodist’s Ryan Wilkins re-ignited the rally with a single. Brooks Robinson and Allen Caldwell followed with RBI singles to chase McCoy.
Spartanburg Methodist (52-14) had the opportunity to tie the game because it was able to mount a rally in the seventh inning when it was three outs away from losing by the eight-run rule.
Phillip Morgan drove in one run to at least make the game go nine innings. Two batters later, another run scored. Two batters later with the bases loaded, Matt O’Rourke delivered a bases-clearing double to make the score 13-9.
“We dropped the ball at second base, which was inexecusable,” Johnson said. “We didn’t play smart. If we don’t play better, we won’t be around long, I can tell you that.”
Two batters later with two outs, Ryan Wilkins struck out, but catcher Trey Manz dropped the ball. He quickly picked the ball up and fired it to first base. Paul Gatchell dropped it, but Wilkins was called out.
Spartanburg coach Tim Wallace argued. The umpires discussed the call and reversed it, bringing out Johnson.
“First of all, to overturn a call you need to have a good reason,” Johnson said. “I asked if the baserunner was outside the baseline and (the umpire) said he was inside, but it didn’t affect the play.”
The discussion lasted several minutes, prompting the crowd to chant, ‘Let’s Play Ball!’
When play resumed, the Pioneers rally ended for the time being.
Spartanburg’s late inning rally was necessary because it made four errors to let Chipola build an 8-0 lead before the Pioneers first at-bat.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game like that,” Chipola catcher Trey Manz said. “They handed us the first inning then made it more spicer. That’s why they make you play nine innings. Anything can happen.”
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Allen Gemaehlich can be reached via e-mail at agemaehlich@gjds.com.
