Members of the Clearwater Tigers celebrate their win over Twin Rivers in the Class 2 District 3 title game at Strenfel Memorial Field on Friday afternoon. (Alex Abate/DAR)

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

Clearwater waited until it had to have a hit Friday afternoon to get something going.

The Tigers were down 7-4 to Twin Rivers in the Class 2 District 3 title game going into the bottom of the seventh inning before they got three runs to tie the game at seven and send it to extra innings. A bases-loaded walk to Jake Hime in the bottom of the ninth gave the Tigers the win, 8-7 at Strenfel Memorial Field. It was the second straight district title for the Tigers.

Clearwater's Kendall Fay slides into third base as Twin Rivers' Al Shearer gets the throw from Cody Russom in the Class 2 District 3 title game at Strenfel Field on Friday afternoon. (Alex Abate/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

"Coach (Jeff) Null, (the Royals) play our butts off today and had us and the ball just bounced our way a time or two," Clearwater coach Justin Dobbins said. "Sometimes that's baseball."

Hime got the win on the mound for the Tigers while Dylan Stockton got the loss as both pitchers went the whole way.

Stockton struck out two in the bottom of the seventh and the Royals were just one out away when Cole Ezell singled to left field to start the rally. Jordan Devenport hit a ground ball to third base but the throw pulled Twin Rivers' Tyler Zoll off the base and Devenport was safe. Kyle Randolph followed with a hit that dropped in front of Twin Rivers' Holden Madison at second base but he couldn't get a handle on it and the runners were safe.

Kendall Fay came up and hit a double to left center field that allowed three runs to score and tie the game at seven.

"I was just trying to keep myself back and keep my hands up and just do what I know how to do and not think to much," Fay said. "I was just trying to put the ball in play, I wasn't trying to go no certain way or anything."

There were no bigger hits for the Tigers this spring, Hime said.

"Without a doubt, the biggest hit of the season right there," he said. "We have had walkoff hits all year but that ties it up in the bottom of the seventh with our last out in the district championship game, that sophomore stepped up huge right there."

Up until the late rally, the Royals were in control of the contest, coach Jeff Null said.

"We were in control of the game for 6 2/3 innings," he said. "Nobody stepped up and wanted to make that last out -- we knew they were going to play seven innings and that was their strong point, they are not going to quit and you have to get that last out and we didn't do it."

Twin Rivers had a chance to take the lead in the ninth. After a ground out, Dylan Stockton singled up the middle and Jordan Fowler hit a ball back to Hime who threw to second base but the ball was bobbled and both runners were safe. Zoll was intentionally walked in favor of Al Shearer and the move paid off for the Tigers. Shearer hit a grounder to Clearwater's Logan Morris at third base and he threw to the catcher Ezell for the second out and Ezell threw down to Dan Smith at first for the double play.

"They made a big play right there," Null said. "I am hoping for a fly ball, anything. We hit it hard, just right to the third baseman, it is a taylor-made boom-boom and they executed it."

Even though the Tigers got the win, they started the game much different than they finished it. Twin Rivers got four runs in the top of the first for the early advantage.

Ryan Miller started the game with a single to right field and Garrett Stockton walked. After a fielder's choice by Dylan Stockton, Fowler doubled to center field to score Garrett Stockton to make it 1-0. Back-to-back singles by Zoll and Colton Vancil made it 3-0 and a double to center field scored Zoll to make it 4-0.

"Our gameplan was, if we could get out early, it would give us some confidence," Null said.

Clearwater got one run in the first to make it 4-1 but Twin Rivers added one each in the third and fourth to make it 6-1. The Tigers stranded eight runners through the first four innings.

"It was the worst game of the year by far for the first five innings," Hime said. "But then, we decided we wanted to win this one."

The Tigers got one run in the fourth to make it 6-2 and after the Royals answered with one in the fifth, Clearwater cut its deficit to 7-4 with two runs in the sixth, also setting the table for its late rally.

"When we come in (the dugout) in the sixth we talked about mental toughness," Dobbins said. "I told them the only way we are going to win this is to be mentally tough and don't quit until the last out."

Hime finished the game with six walks and two strikeouts and held the Royals to zero runs over the four final innings of the game.

"Jake (Hime) battled his butt off, he got tougher as the game went on," Dobbins said. "He didn't get good until about the sixth or seventh and just stepped up there."

Hime's counterpart Dylan Stockton, finished the game with 14 strikeouts and 10 walks, three coming in the final frame.

"He has been our horse all year and I wasn't taking him out," Null said. "He threw well enough to win that ballgame today and the defense, we just let him down a little bit."