Worth County takes round one with Gabe Goff’s walkoff hit

SYLVESTER — Worth County senior Gabe Goff singled with two outs and two on in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday to give the third-ranked Worth County Rams a 3-2 win over Cook County in a best of three series that will determine the Region 1-AAA championship. The game was played in front of a standing room only crowd at the Worth County baseball stadium in Sylvester on a near-perfect spring afternoon. The ending was near perfect for Rams fans as well, as Worth County looks to capture its second straight region title. Now the two teams will travel to Adel for the final two games of the series.

Worth County right-hander Jeremiah Reddell pitched the entire game for the Rams and took the win on the mound. He gave up eight hits in seven innings of work, struck out five and walked one.

Worth County led 2-0 after the second inning, and the score remained until the Hornets put a run on the board in the top of the sixth inning then tied the game with another run in the top of the seventh.

It looked as though the teams would be heading into extra innings when Cook County relief pitcher Brock Revels quickly sat down the first two batters with a swinging bunt back to the mound and a strike out. But then Cason King hit a hard ground ball to the short stop and raced to first to beat the throw in a bang-bang play. Reddell then blooped a single in front of the center fielder to put runners on first and second. That is when Goff stepped to the plate and roped the ball hard into left field and King raced around the bases to home plate to give the Rams the walk-off victory.

“I am really proud of the way our guys played today,” said Worth County head coach Will Smith. “They responded well under pressure and then Gabe (Goff) comes through like he did and Jeremiah Reddell pitching like he did,” said Smith. “Our defense was solid. I think we turned three double plays in the game.”

Smith also had high praise for the Hornets. “They play great baseball,” said Smith. “Their pitcher Salem Brannon did an excellent job keeping us off balance. He kept the ball down and away and kept us capping all day. Then they changed and brought in the right hander — (Brock) Revels. Our guys did a good job of adjusting after watching him from the dugout.”

It was one of the lowest offensive outputs of the year for the Rams as they picked up only six hits and three runs. “The guys were not happy with just a couple of runs. They normally score six or seven or more,” said Smith. “But we had a lot of line drives right at them. And their defense and their pitchers played well.”

A doubleheader is scheduled for Friday in Adel, but with the threat of severe weather on tap for Friday, the games are likely to be played Saturday, according to Smith. He said no firm decision has been made, but if there is a threat for bad weather on Thursday night, he does not want his team riding a bus in the middle of the weather coming back from Adel.

By Joe WhitfieldBy Joe Whitfield

By Joe Whitfield