Highland comes one out shy of sweeping in 6A regional play; Glenn shines in both games, homering and driving in 8

POCATELLO — The Highland Rams fell one out shy of winning both games of 6A East Regional play action Friday, beating Centennial but falling to Middleton on a walk-off double. Now 1-1, the Rams will need to win three games Saturday to earn a spot in next week’s state tournament.

After stomping the Patriots 20-5 in a five-inning mercy-rule victory, the Rams took a 5-3 lead into the seventh and final inning against the Vikings, and had two outs with runners on second and third. But Middleton came through with the game in the balance, singling in one run then doubling in the tying and winning runs to cap the first day of regional play in the east.

Highland head coach Christian Colonel said that there is some frustration in the Rams’ clubhouse, but that his team will be ready to play Saturday.

“That’s just baseball, man. That’s just how it works — you have highs, and you have lows,” he told EastIdahoSports.com after the game. “We’ve walked off five different games this year, now we got walked off. … When you’re 16, 17, 18 years old, you get some raw emotions, and it hurts. They played a hell of a game, we played a hell of a game. You can’t win them all.”

Game one against Centennial

No player ever wants to make two outs in a single inning. But for that player’s team, it means runs were scored en masse. So for junior Kai Jones, who has been one of Highland’s most productive bats all season, he will likely accept the strikeout and groundout he produced in the first inning, because his Rams scored seven runs between the two at-bats.

Dealt a massive lead before he ever took the mound as the visiting pitcher at his home ballpark, senior Nash Randall cruised despite a trio of errors leading to four unearned runs. He struck out two but walked just one, forcing the Patriot hitters to put the ball in play.

Jones pitched the second game, and handed a lead off to his bullpen after hitting his pitch limit with one out in the sixth.

Colonel spoke about the efforts hit got from his two righties.

“The resiliency and the leadership is second to none,” the coach said. “They’re a good one-two punch, when they’re out there we trust them and they trust us. They gave us their all, and that’s all I can ask for.”

After erupting for seven in the first inning off Centennial’s tall right-handed ace Cannon Haws, the Highland offense took an inning locking into the much smaller and left-handed reliever Joaquin Moreno. But they got back onto the scoreboard in the third, when Jones knocked in a pair with a single.

Then the Rams removed all doubt, scoring five more runs in the fourth.

The biggest swing of the day came in that fourth, when senior shortstop Marshall Glenn atoned for his error earlier in the game by hammering a three-run home run, the second of his high school career.

“He’s got a little thump in him,” Colonel said. “He’s skinny, but he’s strong. I guess they call that wiry strong.”

Then, the coach added with a laugh, “He’d be really strong if he knew where the weight room was.”

Just for good measure, Highland added six more runs in the fifth.

Glenn paced the offense from his leadoff position, going 3-for-3 with two walks, four runs scored and five RBIs. Jones rebounded from his 0-for-2 first inning to collect a pair of hits, including a double, and drive in four runs.

Game two against Middleton

Starting game two, Jones threw 37 pitches, allowing two hits, two walks and one runner to reach on a dropped third strike. Despite striking out four in the frame, the junior went into the dugout with his team trailing 2-0.

He held the Vikings to four hits, one walk and one run from there, though, getting one out in the sixth inning before hitting his pitch limit for the day. He handed the ball to sophomore Aiden Ellett, who picked off an inherited runner at first and got a groundout to end the threat.

The Rams carried a 5-3 lead into the seventh, again capitalizing on a productive performance from Glenn, whose bases-clearing three-run double was the biggest swing of what was a five-run fifth for Highland.

“That’s nothing new, I’ve seen it since he was seven years old. He just finds a way,” Colonel said the lead-off hitting shortstop. “He may forget his belt, and he may forget his socks, but he’ll come to play.”

Jones nearly missed his own homer in the same inning, sending a liner high off the tennis court fence in right-center for a double.

Ellett, who came back to the mound for the bottom of the seventh, nearly ended the game with another pickoff. But his very next offering was hammered to left-center by Middleton’s Vincent Donatini, scoring the winning run from second.

Now, Highland will have to emotionally recover from the heartbreaking loss, as it needs three wins on Saturday to win the region and claim a spot in next week’s state tournament.

The key to winning three games in one day, according to Colonel, is relying on the teammates around you.

“To love each other along the way, and be together,” he said when asked what his team will need to do for a three-win super-regional Saturday. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s going to be a long day, and they know it’s going to be grueling; it’s going to be hard. But if you’re with your brotherhood, you can do it together.”

Highland, despite being a district champ and host team, entered the regional round as the 6A tournament’s ninth seed — out of 12 teams. That is why they were the visitors, batting in the top half of the inning both games Saturday, facing the 5-seeded Patriots and 4-seeded Vikings.

Colonel said he and his team weren’t surprised when they learned of their seeding, adding that early-season losses to Mountain View, Centennial, Twin Falls and Madison led to a low MaxPreps ranking, which is used for tournament seeding.

“You’ve got to win those games to get one of those top five seeds, he said. “That kinda hurt, you kicked yourself early on.”

The Rams will be the home team at 10 a.m., when they take on Centennial. If they win that game, Highland will be the visitors against Middleton — and again in a third, winner-take-all game, if it is necessary.