Aaron Simmons came to Lee as a walk-on, no doubt wondering what his function would be on a team coming off a World Series appearance. Almost two years later, that role is as clear as his deep Southern drawl: He’s the Flames’ most reliable player in crunch-time.
And Saturday, he helped deliver the program’s first Series triumph.
Simmons’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 12th scored Andrew Shaver and lifted sixth-seeded Lee to a riveting 5-4 win over St. Thomas on a hazy afternoon at Harris Field.
The marathon loser-out contest, witnessed by 1,075 fans, lasted 4 hours, 12 minutes, matching the longest Series game - by innings - since 1995.
It seemed as if it was going to meander well into the evening until the game’s 336th offering. That’s when Jeremy Hutslar’s laid down a sacrifice bunt with Shaver on second and no outs. Instead of getting the sure out at first, St. Thomas pitcher Tim Davis attempted to gun down Shaver at third.
The throw was late to the bag, and it didn’t take long for the Flames to pounce.
After an intentional walk to Lance Zawadzki, Simmons knocked in the game-winning run with a bases-loaded flyout to center.
“There’s no doubt,” Flames coach Mark Brew said, “if (Davis) takes the out there, who knows … how it plays out. … We’ll take it. Anyway we can get it, we’ll take it.”
Lee players jubilantly rushed out of the third-base dugout after Shaver crossed the plate. Simmons, meanwhile, grimaced as he hobbled toward first, finally lowering himself to the ground in pain.
The senior from Dunlap, Tenn., had suffered “one of the worst cramps in the world,” he said. “The worst pain in my life. Just horrible. But you know what? We won the game. That’s all that really matters.”
Simmons came to the Cleveland, Tenn., school from Chattanooga State, a two-year college, with little fanfare. Ten games into his junior year, the first baseman solidified his spot in the lineup, Brew said.
Now he’s hitting close to .420 with 73 RBI.
“How fitting to have a guy who’s had such a tremendous year for us to be at the plate when it was on the line,” Brew said. “There was no doubt he was going to do something in my mind. He’s come through for us all year so many times. … He’s come a long way in our program in two years.”
There were others, of course, who played crucial parts in Lee’s win. Simmons’ sacrifice came after Shaver ripped a ground-rule double to right-center to lead off the 12th. Starting pitcher Nick Utley held St. Thomas to two hits through seven innings.
Then there were Matt Montgomery and Cody Campbell, who furnished four innings of shutout relief.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Shaver said, ‘When I came up to the plate in the ninth and hit a groundball to … the shortstop, I was just praying that I would get one more at-bat. It just feels good … .”
The Bobcats, meanwhile, were left to cope with a second straight painful loss this weekend. They clawed back from a 4-1 hole in the eighth and had the potential game-winning run on third in the ninth.
But the Miami club couldn’t capitalize. It ends the national tournament by falling twice in one-run affairs.
“We had our chances,” St. Thomas coach Manny Mantrana said. “We just came up short. Ten teams, that’s what happens.”
While the Bobcats (46-16-1) were eliminated, Lee (51-14) will carry a feel-good vibe to Monday’s game with Lindenwood. Two years ago on Memorial Day, they were back home after going 0-2.
“It’s big for our program,” Brew said. “To be able to stick around until at least next week … hey, we’ve got a good team. We feel like we stack up well out here.”
ST. THOMAS LEE
ab r h bi a r h bi
Santana lf/rf 6 0 0 0 Shaver rf 4 2 2 0
Hernandez rf 2 1 0 1 Hutslar lf 4 1 1 0
Rincon 3b 0 0 0 0 Zawadzki ss 3 2 1 1
Diaz c 5 0 1 1 Simmons 1b 5 0 2 1
Alvarez pr 0 1 0 0 Sosa dh/c 4 0 2 1
DiFabio 3b/lf 5 1 0 0 Perez 2b 3 0 0 0
Nunez 1b 5 0 1 1 Valadez c 2 0 0 1
Pascual 2b 5 0 1 0 Hydas pr 0 0 0 0
NAIA 2007
Gonzalez ss 4 1 1 0 Mrcdo 3b/ph 3 0 0 0
Houser cf 3 0 0 0 Campbell p 1 0 0 0
Couto dh 2 0 0 0 Sullivan cf 5 0 0 0
Ricke ph 1 0 0 0 Utley p/3b 2 0 0 0
Totals 38 4 4 3 Totals 36 5 8 4
St. Thomas 000 010 030 000-4 4 1
Lee 201 000 100 001-5 8 1
St. Thomas ip h r er bb so
Nelo 8.0 6 4 4 5 7
Davis (L, 2-2) 3.1 2 1 1 1 2
Lee ip h r er bb so
Utley 7.1 3 3 3 3 3
Howard 0.2 1 1 1 1 1
Montgomery 2.1 0 0 0 3 2
Campbell (W, 11-2) 1.2 0 0 0 1 1
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Wright may be contacted at jwright@lmtribune.com or (208) 743-9600, ext. 277.
