PENDLETON — The game can be the cruelest of friends. From moment to moment, baseball goes from slapping congrats on the back to pulling the rug from beneath your feet.
The Pendleton Heights Arabians had both moments May 25 in a Class 4A sectional game with Richmond, losing to the Red Devils 16-6 at Bill Stoudt Field.
“It’s baseball,” coach Travis Keesling said. “Some days you’re going to have where nothing goes your way. It’s a cruel, cruel game sometimes, but I love it.”
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The Arabians put up two runs in the first inning and three more in the top of the second to take a 5-1 lead over Richmond, but when the Red Devils came to bat, they destroyed the Arabians’ cushion with a seven-run inning on just three hits.
Arabians pitcher Walker Stull came into the game with a 6-0 record, but with a series of walks and runs walked in, a hit batter and a couple of hits, Stull left the mound with the score 5-5.
Luke Hargrave came into the game for relief. A passed ball error allowed another run, and with Richmond runners at first and third, Nick Turner’s single scored two more for the Red Devils, turning the game 8-5 in their favor.
Hargrave was replaced by C.J. Williams after another hit batter and one more run scored. Even Williams couldn’t stop the bleeding as Richmond’s Phillip Hobbs made the score 12-5 on his three-run homer in the third inning.
“I didn’t do a good enough job of mentally preparing them and calming the nerves,” Keesling said. “I don’t blame them at all. They’ve been so good for us all year long.”
Richmond went on to score two more in the fourth and in the sixth inning to end the game after posting a 10-run lead.
Despite the loss, the Arabians had nine hits, three from Wyatt Douglas and two each from Cole Miller, Kamden Earley and Ben Richards. Earley tripled in the fifth inning, scoring Alec Geiger for a sixth and final run.
The Arabians finished the season 15-10 and won the Madison County Nick Muller Memorial Tournament, during which Stull recorded 17 strikeouts in the win against Lapel.
The Arabians will lose eight seniors from the 2019 team.
Keesling resigned as Arabian head coach but said his decision was made before the loss. He expressed his intent to spend more time with family and attending his children’s activities.
Keesling said he plans on returning to coaching in the future. His love of the game couldn’t keep him away permanently. During his tenure, the Arabians amassed 125 wins, three sectional titles and five Madison County championships, the most recent of which was in April.