Mac Ausbrooks is used to producing in big-time moments.
A senior that has been in many situations on the diamond and taken advantage of multiple — including a grand slam for a walk-off win a season ago — returned to the spotlight when his team needed him most.
With Greenwood trailing 4-2 with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning against Warren East, Ausbrooks stepped to the plate and delivered a three-run double on the first pitch of the at-bat to give the Gators a 5-4 walk-off victory on Tuesday evening at Harold J. Stahl Field at Bowling Green High School.
“That was a good feeling to get that down,” Ausbrooks said of his walkoff hit. “Good coaching by (Greenwood head coach Jason) Jaggers to send our last runner to score. That really made a difference. Our first two runners to get on and get the top of our lineup up was huge.”
Ausbrooks’ hit put the icing on the cake for Greenwood’s comeback.
Warren East jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and later led 3-0 after the fourth. The Gators (11-5, 4-1 District 14) responded by scoring two runs in the fifth and the trio in the seventh to come out on top and bounce back from Monday’s loss to the Raiders (6-11, 1-4) to even the series.
“I thought we were a little asleep,” Jaggers said of his team’s start. “We had some good a-b’s but weren’t hitting much hard — but we stayed with it and were able to get some across. We never quit. We battled out of a lot of jams.”
While Ausbrooks finished 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Greenwood, Cade Thornton also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and five other Gators recorded hits.
“It’s a great feeling,” Ausbrooks said. “Just keeping the fight in us like we have been. Even though we got down in the error count a little bit, we were able to come back with the bats and show what we can do late in a game.”
Tyler Cook started on the mound for GHS and allowed six hits and three runs with five strikeouts in four innings. Braxton Garner replaced Cook and earned two innings of work with just one hit and a run with a pair of strikeouts, while Wesley Flowers closed with a scoreless seventh.
“Credit Cook — I thought Cook did a tremendous job,” Jaggers said. “He didn’t have his best stuff, but I thought he did a great job to give us four innings. I think Braxton emptied the tank for us and did a great job to hold them where they were. I thought Wesley did a good job to get out of that jam there with the bases loaded.”
Nolan Ford led Warren East with a 2-for-4, 2RBI showing, while Sheldon Martin also tallied a pair of hits.
The rubber match is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Raider Ballpark at Warren East High School.
“We’ve found ways to lose and we’ve found ways to win,” Warren East coach Wes Sanford said. “We left 14 guys on base tonight. We’ve gotta do a better job — and I’ll take the blame for this one. We’ll figure it out and we’ll move forward. It’s a learning experience.”
