Trio of Licking County Shrine Tournament thrillers highlight semifinals

NEWARK — Brian Gilligan’s Father’s Day present will not arrive until Wednesday, but his son Grayson gave him an unexpected one Sunday.

Grayson Gilligan’s walk-off single scored Mason Murphy and sent North Newark’s Park National Bank to the Farm Division final of the Licking County Shrine Tournament. PNB scored the maximum five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to stun league rival Dor-Mar Heating, 11-10.

"It feels pretty incredible," Brian Gilligan said. "That's the sixth time we've played Dor-Mar this year, and they had beat us four times out of the five. ... As coaches, we knew this team had the fight in them. We knew we just had to keep the kids positive, and they did a good job of doing that."

PNB plays Med Ben, another North Newark foe, for the title at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Mound City. Med Ben won 14-8 against Heath’s Texas Roadhouse, which plays Dor-Mar at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the third-place game.

Austen Ewing’s two-run single highlighted PNB’s five-run fifth, starting an improbable comeback. After Grayson Gilligan stranded two runners in the top of the sixth, Murphy hit a tying double to deep center before a wild pitch drew the infield in and allowed Gilligan to single up the middle.

"I felt like (we were done) myself (before the fifth inning), and I am pretty sure probably everyone felt that way," Murphy said. "I hit it, and everybody started getting loud. Then, it just kept going, and we got five."

Med Ben did its damage early and often. Asher Reidenbach had a bases-clearing triple, and Tyler Seville added a two-run single. Texas Roadhouse did not go quietly, but Joey Henderson snared a line drive at second base to save two runs to end the first inning, and Jace Conners knocked down a line drive on the mound before completing the out at first to end the game.

"We came out hitting the ball, so that's good. I guess that extra batting practice in the heat this week paid off," Med Ben coach Toby Reidenbach said. "We brought the sticks this afternoon. That's a pretty good team we beat over there. They hit the ball hard a lot. We just made some plays."

The Varsity Division semifinals were as advertised, each coming down to the final pitch.

North Newark’s Edward Jones edged league foe Licking Memorial Hospital 5-4, and North Newark’s Mattingly Landscape knocked out Mound City’s Wright Brothers Power, 4-3, preventing the home team a second opportunity in the final.

"We can't even describe it," Mattingly coach Jeremy Davis said. "These kids have fought all year long. I don't think anybody expected them do anything let alone make it to the finals. For the 12-year-olds to have a chance to go out on top, it's unbelievable."

EDJ and Mattingly match up at 8 p.m. Thursday. LMH and Wright Brothers play for third at 5:30 p.m.

Just 24 hours earlier, Wright Brothers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth to stay alive. The same three hitters batted Sunday, but Cole Lavery got them 1-2-3 as Maddux Carter made a catch in short right-center to begin the inning.

"I was a little bit nervous, but I took a deep breath and remembered I had my team behind me and pushed through it," Lavery said. "Last time we played (EDJ), we lost by one, so it should be a good game."

Colin Fetherolf scored on a wild pitch to give Mattingly, the difference-making run.

Lleyton Rector’s two-run hit got EDJ the lead in the top of the first inning. LMH was a step behind the rest of the way.

"It feels great. It feels really good," Rector said. "(That hit) gave me a confidence boost, but if it wasn't for my team, we wouldn't be here right now. It's my first Shrine championship game."

A two-run hit for LMH closed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning, and a heads-up play prevented a tying third run. LMH attempted to steal the run with two outs on the throw back to the pitcher, but Justin McLaughlin threw back to Julien Battles to get the out.

"We always try to keep focus on stuff like that, and that's why he sent him because we were losing focus on stuff like that," said EDJ coach Shannon McLaughlin, whose team later stranded the tying run at third base and the winning run at first when a groundout to short was induced to end the game. "It was fortunate we were able to get him."

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Trio of Licking County Shrine Tournament thrillers highlight semis