5-run sixth inning advances Tornadoes

After a base hit to center and a Mansfield Madison batter reached first on an error in the top of the sixth inning in a scoreless Division III sectional semifinal, Columbian coach Nick Weber made the decision to go get Blake Gaulden and bring in ace Isaiah Tilse. The reaction was boisterous and loud from the Rams' bench as one player screamed: "Yes! We wanted to see him!" Then right after that shout, another player quite a bit softer remarked: "No, no we didn't."If they actually wanted Tilse, they got him. For three more batters in the sixth anyway as he struck out the next three hitters to get TC out of the jam. That momentum carried over into the bottom of the inning as Madison made a couple of errors in the rainy, wet conditions and Columbian took advantage. After the sixth, it was 5-0 Tornadoes as they held on to win it, 5-1.With the win, the Tornadoes (9-14) will now travel to top-seeded No. 2 Defiance (20-1) Thursday in a sectional final.Before the sixth inning, it really was the top of the second that was the key to TC's win. Madison (3-25) was threatening with the bases loaded with just one out. Kylor Stegall hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Bradley Willman, who got his feet under him and made a toss to home plate for a key out, keeping things scoreless. Then Gaulden got a huge strikeout to end the inning. "He made a nice backhand play and it's one of those plays as coaches where you're like, 'No, no, no, no … yes, yes, yes, yes,' So him making a play on that really helped," TC coach Nick Weber said.Both teams had chances throughout the game as the wet conditions made any routine plays certainly not routine. Just putting the ball in play was key, which TC did more. It had a real good chance to grab a lead in the fifth, but a nice play on a weak ground ball from Madison shortstop Ashton Taylor left TC runners stranded on third and second.In the bottom of the sixth, Jayce Arias reached on an error, Gaulden hit a single to left field and then Conner Reese walked to load the bases with one out. Then Jamison Woessner drove in Willman on a deep sac fly to left. Braden Egbert then reached on an error, scoring Gaulden, Jaxon Little was hit by a pitch and then Ethan Wilcox roped a two-run single to left to really open things up. Little then scored, stealing home to give TC a 5-0 edge.Madison did get a run in the top of the seventh on a fielder's choice, but the Tornadoes weren't threatened.Gaulden was great on the hill, allowing just four hits in his five innings. He fanned seven and walked only one. But when things were getting a bit dicey, Weber went to his senior."Blake Gaulden pitched about the best he could pitch tonight," Weber said. "I knew he had a little left in the tank when we pulled him, but when you have a guy like Isaiah ready to go sitting over her on the bench in a situation like that, he needed to go."You have your best horse sitting over here and if you walk away not using him or leaving your horse in the barn if you will, it would eat at me for a very long time. So we thought we'd throw our best and he did just that. He got us three strikeouts there to close the door on that inning."Tilse came in and struck out four in his two innings. At the plate, TC had just four hits, but did finally take advantage of six Rams errors. Gaulden did have two singles."Really all night we had opportunities, starting in the first inning, but we just couldn't find that key hit," Weber said. "But kudos to those guys because they played really hard and they pitched really well. But we'll take that five-run sixth and I was glad the rain kind of held off enough there as well."We know what's coming and we're excited. We get to play the best. I know our guys want it and we get to play at one of the best facilities they have there. It's one day at a time, but we're happy to keep dancing right now. Tilse is going Thursday and any time he's going out there, we're happy with what we have."