[jwplatform 3iiBvEm3-0sfMkJ85]
Williamsville overcame a three run deficit with four outs left to beat Pleasant Plains 7-6 in Monday's 2A Beardstown Sectional Final. In the process, the Bullets exorcise another post season demon. Williamsville lost a 13 inning thriller to the Cardinals in last year's sectional final and Pleasant Plains went on to win a 2A state title.
Plains threw the first punch in the top of the first inning, scoring three runs, the last of which came on a solo Alex Edwards home run. Williamsville stoically chipped away with runs in the first and the second to close the Cardinals lead to 3-2.
Plains senior Cole Hamilton was 3-for-3 with a pair of runs and an RBI that came in the top of the fourth inning to stretch the Cardinals lead to 6-3.
The Cardinals held that lead with two outs in the bottom of the sixth when Sam Fanale delivered a two-out double with the bases loaded to score Vince Vignali and Luke Bleyer. With the lead cut to one, Drew Keenan followed that with a single up the middle that plated the tying run in Dayton Edwards. Plains' center fielder Zach Ross threw out the potential go-ahead run in Fanale at the plate on the play, preserving a 6-6 tie heading to the seventh inning.
After Bleyer retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the seventh, a Daniel Daykin single put the potential winning run on base and with two outs, Vignali hit a grounder to second that slipped past Cole Greer. Ross recovered the grounder and threw to third where Daykin had slid in safely. Third baseman Cole Hamilton threw to second in an attempt to get Vignali, but the ball trickled away from second base, allowing Daykin to scramble home for the winning run.
Williamsville will play St. Joseph Ogden on Tuesday in the 2A LLCC Supersectional. The winner will punch their ticket to this weekend's state tournament.
