Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Rebels’ doubleheader in the semifinals against Edgewood Academy was as thrilling as it gets as it ended with a split after two walk-offs. 

 

Game One: Chambers Academy – 15 Edgewood Academy – 16

 

The Rebels were on the opposite side of a walk-off in game one as Chambers Academy fell to Edgewood Academy 16-15. 

With their backs against the wall in the top of the seventh inning, the Rebels got a bases-loaded single from Grey Hayley to tie the game at 15. That ended up being just a shimmer of joy as the Wildcats came away with a one-run single of their own to end things in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

The game was as high-scoring as it gets, and Chambers Academy took a commanding lead early on. Hayley got things started in the top of the first with an RBI single before singles from Eli Whorton and Kyle Hand gave the Rebels a 3-0 lead and an error added one last run to cap off the inning. 

The momentum swayed the opposite direction in the bottom of the first as a grand slam tied things at four before a one-run double gave Edgewood a 5-4 lead. 

The Wildcats added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning, but the Rebels rallied in the top half of the third inning. An error cut the deficit to two before an RBI double from Jon Caulfield cut Edgewood’s lead to 7-6. 

Caulfield’s command on the mound got the best of him in the bottom of the third inning as he walked home a run before Hayden Hendrix relieved him. Hendrix struggled to get outs as he walked home two runs and hit a batter to add to the deficit before being replaced by Cameron Gooden. 

Gooden stabilized things for the Rebels, but a sacrifice fly with one out made the Wildcats’ lead balloon to 12-6. 

Chambers Academy continually cut into the lead during the late stages. Kyle Hand drove in a run with a double before Caulfield hit a ground out to add another run in the top of the fourth. Drew Sheppard’s RBI double capped off the inning and cut the deficit to three. 

Luke Tarver hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning to make it 12-10, but the Wildcats added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. 

Tarver drove in another run in the top of the sixth inning with a double before Hayley added two more runs with a home run. 

Hayley led the way for the Rebels with three hits and five RBIs. Tarver added three hits and two RBIs. Hand added two hits and two RBIs while Whorton also pitched in two hits and an RBI. 

 

Game Two: Chambers Academy – 10 Edgewood Academy – 9

 

Down by two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Chambers Academy rallied to walk it off in game two. Eli Pritchard got things started with a one-run single to cut the lead to one. Whorton scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded to tie the game at nine. Sam Smith came up with the clutch hit as he drove a ball into left field to score Hand and send the series to a decisive game three. 

The Rebels had a commanding lead to start as Hayley got things started with an RBI on a ground out before Whorton drove in two more runs with a single to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning. 

The lead continued to balloon in the second inning as Payton Yerta hit a double to add a run before scoring later in the inning on a wild pitch. Another run scored on an error to make it 6-0. 

The Wildcats rallied back with a run in the next half inning before adding two more in the top of the fourth. 

Tarver added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth inning with a single, but the Wildcats cut into the lead with a run scoring on an error in the top of the fifth inning. 

Edgewood took its first lead of the game in the top of the sixth with four runs in the inning, and a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning gave the Wildcats a 9-7 lead. 

Yerta, Tarver, Whorton and Smith led the way in game two with two hits apiece. Chambers Academy used three different pitchers in the game. 

The split on Wednesday means that Chambers Academy will face Edgewood in a win-or-go-home game three on Thursday.