Columbus beats Rice in 11 inning thriller

The Columbus Cardinals and the Rice Raiders played well into the night Tuesday because it took 11 innings to decide a winner.

Columbus, literally, walked the game off with a final score of 5-4 as three walks in a row was the ultimate deciding factor in this tight district game.

The game was as close as it could have been Tuesday night in Columbus and that was to be expected. Games between the Cards and the Raiders always have a little more meaning to them because the schools are so close and bragging rights are always on the line.

The first five innings of this game reflected that perfectly as neither team found a way to open the score. With the score stuck at 0-0 for the first five innings fans began to move to the edge of their seats as they knew they were in for a classic.

Columbus finally opened the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs on the board. The inning started with Parker Meyer getting walked to get a runner on base for the Cards.

That was followed up by a ground ball that was easily scooped up by the Raider defense and thrown to first base for the first out of the inning. In the midst of that Meyer managed to steal both second and third to have a runner in scoring position.

The next Cardinal batter hit a line drive for another easy out for the Raiders and Meyer stayed at third. Meyer then took matters into his own hands and after a wild pitch he slid into home plate to give the Cards a 1-0 lead.

It did not take long for the Raider to respond though as they quickly evened up the score in the seventh inning. OJ Johnson hit a single to get a runner on base, but his pinch runner was tagged out trying to steal.

Thankfully shortly after Ty Rodgers was walked, and the Raiders had another runner on base. Rodgers stole second and third on a wild pitch, then capitalized on yet another wild pitch to tie the game up at 1-1 for the Raiders.

Neither team scored in the 8th inning setting up a showdown in the 9th that saw both offense’s get their shots in during this heavyweight bout. Rodgers got things started for the Raiders in the top of the 9th inning by hitting a double that gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Shortly after David Becerra hit a single that drove home a run to extend the lead to 3-1. Then finally Adolfo Martinez hit a single that brought a third runner home to extend their lead by one more run and carry a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th.

In the bottom of the 9th the Cards led off with a walk and a single to have runner on first and second base. Jayden Spaulding stepped up to the plate and blasted a ball into the outfield for a double that cut the Raiders lead down to two runs.

With two outs and two runners on Ryan Carter was walked to load up the bases for the Raiders and force an out at any base. Wyatt Tipton stepped up to the plate and hit a single into center field that drove home two runs, and the game was tied.

This led to the game going scoreless again in the 10th inning. In the bottom of the 11th Kannon Rooks hit a single to get on base, then Devin Oppermann was hit by a pitch, Carter was walked which loaded the bases and then Tipton was walked which brought Rooks home for the final score of the game.

Both teams are at the tail end of their seasons now with only a couple games left, Columbus will close out their season against Yoakum and Rice will close out their season against Edna next week.