HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The only lead Independence enjoyed in their Class AA quarterfinal contest against Buffalo came when a fly ball off the bat of Allen Coalson landed in centerfield to send Bryaden Keith home as the winning run. The No. 3 Patriots outlasted No. 6 Buffalo, 4-3 in 8 innings to secure a spot in the semifinal round.
Trailing 3-2 as they stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, all five Independence batters reached base in the inning. KJ Viars, who scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh, reached on an infield single to score Micah Cuthbert and even the game at 3. Coalson lifted a fly ball that was not handled by the Bison. The play was ruled as a fielding error but was likely deep enough to score the winning run regardless.
“That was exciting. Both teams played really well. Both pitchers pitched well,” said Independence head coach Scott Cuthbert. “Their first pitcher [Luca Signorini] was lights out and we couldn’t scratch anything. But we hung around and we were able to pull it out in the end.”
The Patriots (29-9) were unable to muster any offense against Signorini until the seventh inning. Trailing 2-0, Independence sent eight batters to the plate and they ultimately tied the contest with an RBI single from Viars. Viars later scored from second base on a fielders choice.
“That’s what I told them when they came in in the seventh, ‘We just have to score two runs’. We were trying to do that the whole time. We survived. That’s the only thing you can do this time of year. If you can survive and advance, you are doing good.”
Buffalo (21-14) built a 2-0 lead with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, coming from RBI singles by Nate Gillispie and Attilio Signorini. Jake Crossin scored for the Bison on a passed ball in the top of the eighth, briefly giving the Bison a lead before Independence’s late heroics.
Both starting pitchers were impressive. Luca Signorini struck out a dozen batters for Buffalo in 6.1 innings before reaching the pitch limit. Independence starter Brady Williams struck out nine batters in five innings. Degan Williams earned the win by tossing three innings in relief.
The Patriots will face No. 2 Frankfort Thursday evening for a spot in Saturday’s Class AA state championship game.
“We’ve got a tough one there. Frankfort is really good. They have been state champion and then runner-up two years in a row. We’ve got our hands full there. Hopefully we’ll get healthy the next few days and we’ll see what happens.”