WALES — Jared Hanson didn’t have much zip remaining in his right arm, and Winthrop’s reserves of energy and self-confidence weren’t exactly filled to the rim.

The Ramblers blew one three-run lead to reach extra innings Tuesday at Oak Hill’s Fairchild Field, and the Raiders were one line drive away from inflicting that indignity again, or worse, in the bottom of the ninth.

“You go into it knowing you have the team behind you,” Hanson said. “I was just throwing to put it over the plate, hoping they put it in play.”

Hanson coaxed a pair of ground balls to Mario Meucci at third base and Cabot Lancaster at shortstop, and the resulting unassisted fielder’s choices froze two runners on base, allowing Winthrop to survive, 10-9.

Not bad for a team that went without a hit until the fourth inning and rallied from a 4-3 deficit with four runs in the top of the seventh, but still …

“I’d like to buy an out someplace,” Winthrop coach Marc Fortin said.

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Oak Hill knows the feeling.

The happy news: An improbable comeback and an encore that fell a whisker short. But the Raiders gave it away before that, committing four errors with a wild pitch for good measure in the seventh. Oak Hill was charged with six errors, in all.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one team make so many errors, just one after the next after the next,” Oak Hill coach Matt Bray said. “We looked like a badly coached team today. That’s on me. I’ve got to step my game up for these guys. We have a real good club.”

Class C Winthrop (6-4) won its third consecutive game despite mustering only six hits to Oak Hill’s 14. Two of those were bunt singles by Drew Stratton, including one off Oak Hill reliever Jared Glazier to trigger the ninth-inning rally.

“At the beginning of the game, Coach gave me the green light to bunt if they were playing back at third,” Stratton said. “They seemed to be playing back at third the whole game.”

Hanson and Dakota Carter had RBI singles in the inning. Meucci also scored after reaching on an unsuccessful fielder’s choice.

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Of course, the only bad news for the Ramblers was that Class B Oak Hill (8-3) had another rip. Brady Dion and Parker Asselin promptly greeted Hanson with singles. Jake Martin walked to load the bases.

Jonah Martin’s sacrifice fly and Connor Nilsson’s single through the box made it 10-9 with runners at first and second. But Hanson got a slow roller from Glazier to Meucci, who tagged the bag to keep it that way. Then sophomore shortstop Lancaster lunged to his left after Adam Merrill’s grounder and beat Glazier to the bag by a blink for the final out.

It was a triumphant end to a bizarre day for Hanson, who worked the first five innings before handing a 3-3 game to Steele. Hanson drew an intentional walk and scored in the four-run Winthrop seventh, but later misjudged a pop-up in the overcast sky that would have been the final out to trigger Oak Hill’s first resurrection.

“It was a little deflating,” Fortin said. “It’s not the way we diagrammed it for sure.”

Winthrop scored its four in the seventh without the benefit of a hit or an RBI. Pinch hitter Matt Ingram and Lancaster each reached on an error to get it started from the bottom of the order.

Jonah Martin’s two-run triple was the lone hit in the Oak Hill seventh. It cut the deficit to 7-6 and hastened the return of Hanson, whose second offering sailed to the backstop. Martin raced home to tie it.

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“Game’s over, right? Any game, anywhere is over, and these kids fought all the way back and did a hell of a job,” Bray said.

The Ramblers, who now have won three one-run games, didn’t budge.

“We’ve been playing close games all year, so we weren’t that deflated,” Stratton said. “We came in knowing if we stayed with them it would be to our advantage, because we were the underdogs, at least I think.”

Jake Martin struck out 11, walked six and didn’t allow an earned run in his seven innings for Oak Hill.

Singles by Dalton Therrien and Jake Bannister and sacrifice flies by Dion and Asselin gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead in the first.

Hanson walked and Meucci singled to set up a two-run throwing error that tied it in the fourth. Stratton’s first bunt single, a stolen base, an errant pickoff throw and Steele’s single put the Ramblers on top in the fifth.

“We definitely started off (the season) slow. Now we’re picking it up,” Hanson said. “We’re starting to get our bats on the ball, and our defense is still pretty solid.”

Dion tied it with an infield single to score Therrien in the bottom of the fifth. Singles by Brandon Pomerleau and Glazier led to the go-ahead run in the sixth, scored by pinch runner Matt Clifford on a passed ball.

Therrien, Bannister, Dion, Pomerleau and Glazier each had two hits for Oak Hill. Hanson walked two and didn’t register a strikeout.


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