Callahan sparks 2-out, 9-run rally to send Freedom baseball past Wilson – lehighvalleylive.com

The Wilson baseball team was four outs away from a win over Freedom, leading 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning and nobody on.

Warriors pitcher Alec Snyder had retired 10 of the 13 batters he faced since coming on in relief to start the third inning and the freshman looked to be well on his way to the win.

That all changed in the blink of an eye or however long it took Patriots senior first baseman Evan Callahan to race down the line and leg out a two-out single.

Im not known for my speed, Callahan grinned.

But he had enough to turn a chopper to shortstop into an infield single, and eventually, a 6-1 deficit into a four-run lead.

Freedom went on to stage a nine-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to fend off Wilson 10-6 Wednesday in non-league action.

This is definitely a big win for us, just proving to ourselves that we can do anything and theres no situation we cant overcome, said Callahan, who tore his MCL in a November football game and missed a bulk of the wrestling season because of it.

The Patriots (5-0) may have experienced some hangover effects from its 4-3 win over Easton on Tuesday through the first five and a half innings, but turned it around in time to pull out the win.

We were flat the entire game. It started in (batting practice), continued in and out and I had a completely different (postgame) speech going for them in the sixth inning with the way they were playing, Freedom coach Nick DAmico said. But some people stepped up today. Thats a quality, quality win by a team that wasnt playing well for six innings.

After Callahans single, pinch-hitter Tyler Cooper lined a single to left field. Designated hitter Alec Huertas came up next and roped a single to center field, then took second on a heads up play. The throw to nab him got away, allowing the junior to race around to home plate and complete the little league home run as the Patriots closed within 6-4.

David Smith then singled, stole second and scored on Thomas Bonillas single to left field. Bonilla followed that with a steal of his own, allowing him to score on a single from pinch-hitter Griffin Connelly to tie the game 6-6.

It was only a matter of time before Freedom grabbed the lead as Jonah Mateo walked, Jake Petro hit a squibber for an infield single, Tim Healy singled, Callahan was hit by a pitch and then Cooper finished off the wild sequence with another single that made it 10-6 all in an inning kept alive by Callahan busting it down the line.

Whenever you get a chance to extend an inning like that, you cant just be lazy and jog it out, Callahan said. I never thought it would happen I never thought I could say I hit an infield single but Im really happy about it."

Cain Cabrera then closed it out on the mound in the top of the seventh for the Patriots win.

You get some lucky hits, you get some solid hits, you get some errors thats how you hang a nine-spot up in one inning," Wilson coach Josh Hinkle said. "(They're) a team thats undefeated for a reason. ... We had a couple opportunities to get out of it and we just didnt make the routine plays there and some balls fell in.

The Warriors (4-3) had put together a two-out rally of their own earlier in the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie, even after getting a runner thrown out at home.

With the bases loaded, catcher Nick Strehl cracked a single to left field, which got past Smith and allowed Wilson to clear the bases. Another Freedom error allowed Strehl to score and then Gabe Karslo (3-for-3) ripped an RBI double down the left field line to make it 6-1.

We tell them to play one out at a time, who cares who were playing, conference or non-conference, trying to make good contact and see what happens, Hinkle said. We had a big inning where we put up five runs and then they responded. When youre playing a quality team, thats what you expect to happen.

Brandon Miller, a St. Johns commit, went 1-for-1 with three walks for the Warriors in addition to making a highlight-reel diving grab in center field that robbed Callahan of extra bases in the second inning.

Callahan would find a way on when it mattered most, though, using some unheralded wheels to change the game.

I was trying to take the energy and turn it around all game, Callahan said. Earlier in the game, I was trying to get some kids up and going, but it doesnt always work like that. Sometimes you need effort on the field to get kids going. You gotta lead by example. Sometimes thats what it takes.

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Callahan sparks 2-out, 9-run rally to send Freedom baseball past Wilson - lehighvalleylive.com