With a five-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, top-seeded Potosi/Cassville secured a 9-7 come-from-behind victory over the fifth seeded Timberwolves of River Ridge in a division 4 baseball regional final played last Wednesday evening.

With the win, coach Tony Leibfried’s co-op squad improved to 17-7 on the season and punched their ticket to this past Tuesday’s sectional tournament played in Patch Grove. The other three teams to advance include Seneca, Eleva-Strum and Cochrane-Fountain City.

The Timberwolves closed out their season with a record of 15-10, after finishing fourth in the Six Rivers conference with a record of 10-6.

Wednesday’s regional final saw each team produce nine hits, while both teams also committed five errors and gave up five unearned runs to their opponent.

River Ridge strung together three consecutive hits in the top of the first, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead on a pair of RBI singles from Alan Hernandez and Jackson White.

P/C senior Alex Friederick got the Chieftains on the board in the bottom of the first, taking a 1-1 pitch down the right field line that allowed him to run the bases for a little-league homerun.

The Chieftains then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, where Ben Infield picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to score Damian Bauer, and a River Ridge error allowed courtesy runner Aimslee Tasker to score.

The lead didn’t last long for the home team, as River Ridge plated two runs in the top of the fourth on a two-run, two-out single by Cael Koenig, scoring Kam Reynolds and Draven Moris.

The Timberwolves seemingly took control of the game in the top of the fifth, where they took a 6-3 lead on a two-run single from Kam Reynolds to score Brandon Davis and Alan Hernandez.

With their backs against the wall, the Chieftains got an RBI single by River Sahr in the bottom of the fifth, cutting into their deficit and making it 6-4 with each team getting two more at bats.

After lead-off batter Blake Reynolds reached base for the Timberwolves on an error to start the sixth, the P/C defense got out of the field unscathed with a strikeout and two ground outs.

River Ridge coach Andrew Redman made a pitching change to begin the bottom half of the inning, sending Alan Hernandez to the mound to relieve starter Cael Koenig.

The Chieftains quickly loaded the bases on a pair of River Ridge errors and a walk, then evened the score at 6-6 on a two-run single by Kolton Vogelsberg.

Ben Infield then stepped up with a single to score courtesy runner Kaia Kerkenbush, giving Potosi/Cassville a 7-6 lead and putting runners at first and third with no outs.

After Infield stole second to get into scoring position, Reid Weber hit into a ground out, which allowed pinch runner Aimslee Tasker to score from third and give Potosi/Cassville an 8-6 lead.

Before the inning had come to an end, Logan Rausch hit an RBI single for the Chieftains to score Infield from third.

In the bottom of the sixth, Potosi/Cassville plated five runs, off three singles, two errors and one walk, now putting the pressure on River Ridge to respond.

“The bottom of the sixth was key for us,” said coach Leibfried. “We were able to take advantage of a couple errors and a walk to get bases loaded, and then Kolton hit a double to start the scoring for us.”

With a 9-6 lead going into the seventh, P/C coach Tony Leibfried made a pitching change on the mound, bringing in Friederick to relieve Vogelsberg and get the last three outs.

In their final at bat, River Ridge started out the seventh with a lead-off walk by Brandon Davis and back-to-back singles by Draven Moris and Kam Reynolds. Davis was able to score on Reynolds’ RBI single before the Chieftains got out of the inning on a ground out and a pair of fly outs.

“This is what a regional championship looks like,” said coach Leibfried. “Two great teams battling it out. Both teams made mistakes and continued to fight, with both teams having young men step up and get key hits when they needed it.”

“Honestly, River Ridge is as tough as they get, and to be able to get by them means we are playing at a pretty high level right now,” added Leibfried. “That is what it will take to advance, playing at a high level and keeping our composure.”

Picking up the victory on the mound was Vogelsberg, who gave up six runs, one earned, off seven hits in six complete innings. He also struck out four batters and walked two before being replaced by Friederick in the seventh.

Taking the loss for River Ridge was Hernandez, who faced four batters in the sixth inning, giving up four runs, one earned, off one hit. He also walked one batter before being replaced by Jackson White.

In the first five innings for River Ridge, Koenig gave up four runs, three earned, off six hits, while striking out five batters and walking two.

“It was a tough loss because I felt like we pitched and hit well enough to win,” said River Ridge coach Andrew Redman. “Unfortunately, baseball often comes down to making the routine plays, and our defense made several costly errors throughout the game. Outs have to be outs, especially this time of year.”

“Obviously we’re disappointed to come up short in another regional championship game, but I’m incredibly proud of what this team accomplished,” Redman added. “Finishing with 15 wins is tied for the second-best season in River Ridge baseball history, and that’s something these players should be proud of.”

The Timberwolves were without the services of ace pitcher Blake Reynolds last Wednesday evening, who pitched all seven innings in a 12-6 regional semifinal victory over Ithaca the night before.

In that game, Reynolds threw 81 pitches, giving up six runs, three earned, off six hits. He also struck out four batters and walked one to collect the victory.