Prep baseball: Overbay, key plays allow Tumwater to stave off Aberdeen
BOX SCORE
At Tumwater HS
THUNDERBIRDS 9, BOBCATS 8
Aberdeen002 000 6 - 8
Tumwater300 402 X - 9
ABE Pitching - Hill 5.2 IP, 10 H, 9 R (8 ER), 2 BB, 2 SO; Purdy 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO. Highlights - Baker 2-4, 2B, RBI; Jones 2-4, RBI, 2 R, 2 SB; Hedgpeth 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB; Schreiber 0-3, 2 R, BB, HBP, 2 SB
TUM Pitching - Konrad 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 SO; Goebel 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO; Olson 0.2 IP, 2 H, 6 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 0 SO; Overbay 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO. Highlights - Overbay 1-3, HR, 5 RBI, R, SB; Chase 3-4, 3B, RBI, 3 R, SB; Davis 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 R, HBP; Gustafson 1-4, HR, RBI, R
TUMWATER - Luke Overbay had his teammates' jaws on the floor while the sun was still shining.
A brief spurt of rain was followed by the junior's bolt of lightning off his bat by 5:30 p.m.
And just as night time rolled around at Tumwater High School, the right-hander tucked in the Aberdeen Bobcats to sleep and shut the door on any extra shenanigans.
"I felt nothing," Overbay stated.
Zero thoughts. All business.
Overbay had his fingerprints all over Wednesday night's Evergreen Conference thriller, making an impact in all three phases and with the help of some new guys in elevated roles, Tumwater triumphed over Aberdeen 9-8.
It kicks off a three games in three days stretch for the Thunderbirds. They'll meet the Bobcats again on Thursday before hosting W.F. West on Friday.
"It is a huge win," Overbay said. "We got to get some energy."
The Michigan commit entered the mound in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs. Tumwater (8-2, 4-0 EvCo) had several opportunities to get out of the inning earlier, but a pair of errors and a two-out hit by pitch kept Aberdeen's rally going.
Two pitches into his save chance, Donovaan Hedgpeth ripped a bases-clearing double down the left field line that made it a one-run game. Leadoff hitter Sam Schreiber, who reached base to start the comeback attempt, represented the go-ahead run.
"I love closing, the best feeling in the world," Overbay said. "As soon as he hit it, I was like 'I'm fine.' I'm feeling good and throwing hard. I'm just going to pound the zone."
What came next were the following three pitches: Fastball. Fastball. Fastball.
As soon as Schreiber swung threw the final pitch, Overbay let out a scream and his teammates followed.
"I think we're in stride now," Tumwater head coach Lyle Overbay said.
Two executed moments by the T-Birds didn't mean much when they happened, but proved large once the score was settled.
Wyatt Chase poked through a two-out single in the sixth, stole second and got to third on an error. After a Bobcats pitching change, he crossed home plate on a passed ball to make it 9-2.
In the seventh, Tumwater pitcher Baylor Olson allowed the first four batters to reach, but made the second-best defensive play of the game to keep a run off the board. A slow tapper by Isaac McCarty led to Olson charging at the ball, flipping it to backup catcher Isaiah Rodriguez and getting the tag just in time on Aidan Baker.
And while the Bobcats rally kept going, extra inning baseball was off the table.
"To execute it and not panic, those are things that will help a team win," Coach Overbay said. "That was very mature and very surprising a little bit. He knew exactly what he was going to do."
Olson's defensive headiness was only topped by Overbay's frozen rope of a throw in the second.
Hedgpeth hit a fly ball right to Overbay in right field with one out. A half-spin and a laser that didn't hit the dirt, rather the glove of third baseman Henry Arthur, put together a staggering F-9/9-5 double play.
It left the T-Birds dugout, Overbay and his own father stunned.
"Oh my goodness... I kind of slowed down because I didn't think he was going to run. Everyone is saying 'tagging' and I mean, that was one of the best throws I've ever had, ever," Overbay said. "I was kind of like 'Woah.' They were all looking at me like 'What in the world?'"
"That was pretty impressive," Coach Overbay added. "It was fun to watch."
Oh but the future Wolverine was far from done.
Up 3-2 and with the heart of the order due up, Chase laid down a bunt out of the No. 3 hole and Aberdeen didn't get a throw off to load the bases.
"We need to get Luke up," Coach Overbay said. "Might as well try it. Wyatt is a very good bunter and those momentum (plays) are a big deal."
When Overbay stepped to the plate, he was thinking curveball. He got a fastball from Bobcats starter Mason Hill and cranked it to dead center and hit the roof of the Bird Cage for a grand slam. It's his second home run in as many games.
"I somehow adjusted and I always wanted to hit one on top of the Bird Cage," Overbay said. "Off the barrel, it felt so good."
Liam Gustafson hit a roof on his home run to cap a three-run first for Tumwater. Chase finished with three hits while Peyton Davis and Kade Acker each had a double and scored twice. Adley Goebel earned the win in relief with two-plus innings and three strikeouts.
Starter Braeden Konrad worked around five walks to hold Aberdeen at bay with just three hits.
For a program rich in tradition, the T-Birds don't have the emotional leader like they've had in the past. It is a group built on chemistry while still learning how to play with one another. They've won seven straight since a 1-2 start.
"We're a quiet group of guys," Overbay said. "I think these next couple of weeks, we're going to be playing a lot more together as the team we should be."
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