Roady Carter looks to his coach at third base while getting a lead off second in the first inning.
Josh Slater, No. 16, anticipates the throw to third from the outfield while Henry Bass, No. 13, backs up the play.
Cooper Sessoms fires a pitch from the stretch.
Jaxson Smith takes his first at-bat of the night. He was one of only two Dark Horses to record a hit.
Braving the cold and wind on Thursday night, the Clinton Dark Horse baseball team hosted East Duplin for an early-season match-up that would lead to a walk-off comeback victory for Clinton, surviving the Panthers’ threats to win 4-3 and remain unbeaten.
After a well-delayed start on behalf of the umpire crew running late, the Dark Horses took to the field first, as they were hosting the game.
Cooper Sessoms got the start for Clinton on the mound. A heater of a fastball landed right in the catcher’s mitt and the second pitch was an off-speed that got the batter swinging to give the 0-2 count. Two balls later and it became a 2-2 to start things off. He retired the batter on a swinging strike three.
Sessoms walked the next batter to get the Panthers on the bags in the top of the first inning. A pick off attempt from the righty pitcher looked to be there on time to make the play at first, but the Panther was there just in time to slide under Jaxson Smith’s tag. An error on the throw from third to second on a grounder by Josh Slater resulted in Panther runners at the corners, still with just one out.
Henry Bass would retire the side on a 6-4-3 double play, connecting with Grayson Williams for the force out at second, who fired it to Smith at first, keeping East Duplin scoreless to start the game.
Brennon Bell started in the batter’s box for the Horses, which resulted in a ground out to the shortstop. Roady Carter was next up, receiving a walk from East Duplin to take first base. He eventually made it to second on past ball, but the Horses’ progress stopped there for the inning as Henry Bass and Smith were sent down swinging.
The top half of the second saw just one hit by East Duplin — a double that Zy Wallace grabbed in left field. Two ground outs and a strike out from Sessoms retired the side with ease. The Horses were sent down 1-2-3 in their edition of the second inning, with Sessoms grounding out and Wallace and Josh Slater striking out swinging.
Bass committed an error in the top of the third to get an East Duplin runner on first, and he reached second on a wild pitch. A grounder into centerfield put the Panther home, giving them the first run of the game and the 1-0 lead. Another run would touch the plate on a fly ball to left field, doubling East Duplin’s lead. For Clinton, the third inning looked much the same as the second, with Tyler Hall, Grayson Williams, and Bell going down in order, to once again keep Clinton scoreless.
The Panthers extended their lead in the fourth on a line drive, now making it a 3-0 lead for the visitors. That would be East Duplin’s final run of the night, setting the stage for the last-inning drama that unfolded.
Held scoreless through the first six innings, Clinton was down 3-0 after the Panthers left a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh. Smith was now on the mound at this point, giving up no runs through just over an inning and firing seven strikeouts to East Duplin.
Wallace and Slater were the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh for Clinton, with each of them taking a walk. Hall would do the same, but the first passed ball in his at-bat sent Wallace to third and Slater to second. The next pitch was another ball, and again got past the catcher, sending Wallace home and Slater to third, giving Clinton its first run of the night, cutting the lead to 3-1. Hall walked, and moved to second when Grayson Williams was hit by a pitch to load the bases as the East Duplin pitcher collapsed in the final frame. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Panthers switched pitchers.
Bell hit into a fielder’s choice, but with no out registered on the play. This sent Slater home to cut the lead to 3-2, still with no outs. Hall scored on a passed ball during Carter’s at-bat next, tying the game. A fly ball, hit by Carter, would be the go-ahead play as the right fielder made an error and Grayson Williams crossed home to complete the 4-3 comeback walk-off to keep the Horses undefeated.
Bass and Smith had Clinton’s only two hits of the game, but Wallace, Slater, Hall, and Grayson Williams each scored a run in the miraculous victory. On the mound, Sessoms tossed just over four innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks, plus a pair of strikeouts. Smith was credited with the win after pitching for over two innings, giving up just 1 hit, no runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.
Clinton was to be back on the field, this time at West Brunswick, on Friday night, to take on the 2-1 Trojans.
Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.