Liberty lives, advances by late home run in wild win against Buchanan
As has been the case all season, Liberty's baseball team has been digging the home run power it has to be a differencemaker.
On late Tuesday afternoon, the Patriots, hosting Clovis Buchanan in what's definitely a great Central Section rivalry any time during the season, had to dig deep after scoring the game's first seven runs. They needed Brogan Witcher's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth and his arm in relief to close the door in the top of the seventh for an 11-9 Division I second-round victory.
"Anytime you get a Liberty High School and a Buchanan High School baseball game, especially in the playoffs, there's mutual respect between both programs," Liberty head coach Tony Mills said. "To have a game where we got out on them and they showed no quit at all, fought their way back in the game, then tied the game and then took the lead late; then Witcher hits a three-run bomb. It's just two great high school baseball teams going at it. It's just a shame it has to happen in the second round but that's just the way it is."
Both teams had the home run ball working for them. Liberty's early lead was helped by a three-run shot by Gavin Williams in the second inning to make it 6-0.
Buchanan got back into the game with a five-run third inning on a three-run homer by Jaxson Climer, and three batters later Russell Devany had a two-run blast. Another run in the fourth made it 7-6 and a sacrifice fly in the fifth tied the game at 7.
Witcher showed some speed on the basepaths to give Liberty an 8-7 lead. He walked and took off on a hit by Braden Turman. The ball got past Buchanan left fielder Carvell Wafer and Witcher saw it and ramped up the speed to charge home to put the Patriots ahead by one after five innings.
Buchanan regained the lead in the sixth when, after a one-out triple by Corbin Culver, Tommy Devany cleared the bases with a two-run homer and Liberty wondering if for a second straight season, the Bears would edge them and end their season.
Witcher took over the game again with Brodie Snow and pinch-hitter Brayden Johnson getting on base at the bottom of the order to bring it back to the top of the order.
Per usual, when Witcher got to the plate, and although he stated afterward that he was not looking to hit a home run, but just to keep the lineup moving and everyone hitting, he smacked his 14th home run over the left-field wall and Liberty was in business, up 11-9.
It was Liberty's 59th home run of the season.
"We came out in the seventh inning with the most energy we had," Witcher said.
He came on in relief of a solid effort by Cash Gerecke, who had started and won Liberty's 12-2 playoff-opening win Friday and got the final outs, and he did give up a single and walked another before getting Tommy Devany to fly out to left and send the Patriot players into a celebratory frenzy in shallow right field.
Liberty, the fourth seed in D-1, will now travel to Santa Maria to face top-seeded St. Joseph, a 10-9 winner over Righetti in 12 innings. The game is at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
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