'Didn’t think it could get crazier': Rocky Mountain baseball walks off another city rival in 10th inning

Another crosstown rivalry, another walk-off win in the 10th inning.

The Rocky Mountain High School baseball team broke out the script from 12 days earlier against Fossil Ridge to take down Fort Collins 7-6 under the lights Thursday night in front of about 400 fans at City Park.

No. 8 hitter Wyatt Beals came through in the clutch this time, hitting a ball to right field for a sacrifice fly with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, driving in Brady Hall with the winning run and setting off another wild celebration for the Lobos (12-5, 6-2 Front Range League).

As soon as Hall slid into home plate, just ahead of the throw from the outfield to Fort Collins catcher Max Brunson, the Lobos dugout emptied as players raced across the infield to pile on Beals, who was halfway between first and second base.

“Winning a game against that team over there is huge!” Beals said. “Especially doing it here. I love this field. It’s a different atmosphere with a lot more fans; it’s awesome!”

It was another great ending to a well-played game between two city rivals that went well beyond the regulation seven innings. Evan Wangnild had hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning April 16 to give the Lobos an 8-7 win on their home field over Fossil Ridge.

“I’ve coached with Scott (Bullock, Rocky Mountain’s head coach) since 2003 or 2004, and I don’t think we’ve ever had one game go as long as 10 innings, so to have two like this in the same season is amazing,” Rocky Mountain assistant coach Glen Schwab said.

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And this one was as every bit as well-played, with the added benefit of a bigger stage on the field at City Park that both the Colorado State University club baseball team and the Fort Collins Foxes summer collegiate team call home.

Fans of both teams filled the stands behind home plate, while others stood or sat in camp chairs or blankets along the fences down both baselines and in the outfield. The annual City Park game between Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain draws far more attention than the average local high school baseball game.

Players were a little more amped than usual during pregame warmups, and the extra energy showed in the game.

“There’s a lot of people here,” Fort Collins’ Sean Togher said. “I get a little intense, get the blood flowing a little bit more. It’s fun. I love this stuff.”

Will Vasseur cranked two doubles, a bases-loaded triple and scored two runs for Rocky Mountain, while teammates Nate Eliason and Bryson Medrano added two hits apiece.

Blake Smotherman had two of Fort Collins’ five hits.

Both teams played remarkably well for more than 3 hours.

And the intensity ramped up every inning and, eventually, with every pitch.

Fort Collins (9-8, 5-5) led 3-0 after one inning, trailed 5-3 after three and led 6-5 after scoring three more in the fourth. The Lambkins were still clinging to that one-run lead behind the strong arm of Togher, who allowed just four hits while striking out 12 batters over 7 2/3 innings. But Eliason hit a leadoff double for the Lobos in the final frame, then scored the tying run on Medrano’s sacrifice fly to right field.

Both teams got runners into scoring position in the eighth inning but couldn’t get them in. Rocky Mountain did it again in the ninth and Fort Collins in the 10th without scoring.

Rocky Mountain caught Nemecheck trying to steal third for the final out of the eighth inning.

Togher struck out two batters with a runner on third to end the eighth inning and got the final two outs on a pop-up to first base and strikeout after giving up another leadoff double, followed by a sacrifice bunt, in the ninth.

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On to the 10th.

Hall, who pitched the first 2 2/3 innings for the Lobos, hit a double down the left field line to lead off the bottom of the 10th. A bunt by Phoenix West, who reached base safely himself because of a fielding error by Nemechek, now pitching for the Lambkins, put runners on first and second. An intentional walk of Kirin Lawing, the No. 7 batter in the Rocky lineup, loaded the bases with no outs.

Nemechek, who replaced Togher to start the 10th, struck out the Lobos’ next batter, putting the pressure on Beals. And the Lobos’ outfielder, who had scored an early run after being hit by a pitch before striking out on his next three at-bats, came through.

“I didn’t think it could get crazier than the Fossil game, but somehow we did it,” Hall said. “We’ve got a lot of grit, a lot of heart, and I think that shows when we win games like this.”

Correction: This story has been updated to note that Wyatt Beals drove in the winning run in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly, not a single.

Kelly Lyell reports on CSU, high school and other local sports and topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, follow him on Twitter @KellyLyell and find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. If you 're a subscriber, thank you for your support. If not, please consider purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Rocky Mountain baseball beats Fort Collins in another dramatic city rivalry