FAYETTEVILLE — After more than 3 1/2 hours, 30 runs scored and enough dirty uniforms to last an entire summer, Fayetteville and Baytown had settled absolutely nothing in their opening day game at the Premier Baseball National Sophomore Championship.
Despite a back-and-forth battle in which both teams saw leads both come and go throughout the game, the end result was one neither team wanted as Fayetteville and the Baytown Knights were forced to end in a 15-15 tie after nine innings.
According to Premier tournament rules, teams competing in pool play can only go two extra innings beyond the regulation seven-inning game, meaning Fayetteville and Baytown were done Wednesday at Bulldog Field with little accomplished on either side.
"It's not like kissing your sister, it's more like kissing your sister on the lips," said Kent Ariola, head coach for the Fayetteville Premier team. "Maybe I'm thinking the wrong way, but you've got two teams playing their guts out, getting their jerseys all dirty, and there's nothing to show for it."
While the tie didn't please either side, Ariola was proud of his team for a monster comeback Wednesday. After falling behind 6-1 through the first two innings, Fayetteville slowly started to chip away before finally taking a 10-8 lead in the fifth inning.
Baytown would respond by regaining the lead, 11-10, before Fayetteville came right back to go ahead 12-11 going into the seventh, when Conner Roberts provided the go-ahead RBI single.
Fayetteville then had a chance to win the game in regulation, but two costly errors in the top of seventh led to three unearned runs as Baytown took a 15-12 lead. However, in the bottom of the frame, the game was tied up once again when Forrest Fultz sparked the rally with a two-run home run.
"These guys have grown up a lot," Ariola said. "We're just one high school team and we're playing a bunch of guys from different schools. We're putting guys in tough situations and they did respond tonight and that was good to see."