Amazin' Argylls: Madison-Grant stuns Anderson for first Muller title

Apr. 18—ANDERSON — Madison-Grant would not be denied.

Playing their second Class 4A opponent in three days, the Argylls didn't know who their starting pitcher would be on the bus ride to Memorial Field on Saturday evening. Then they lost a five-run lead in the third inning.

None of it stopped the most unexpected championship run in the Nick Muller Memorial Baseball Tournament's 20-year history. Madison-Grant got 5 2/3 gutsy innings from Nick Evans and a couple more big hits from slugger Maddox Beckley in route to an 11-8 upset of previously undefeated Anderson to win the program's first Madison County title.

"We've came a long way," said Beckley, who also pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for a crucial save. "From no wins at all, getting beat by 2A schools. Now we're up here competing with 4A schools, beating them. I mean, it's crazy."

How unlikely was this title run? The Argylls entered the tournament with six straight losses in the event, dating back to a first-round victory against Anderson Prep in 2017. And they were just 3-12 in the last six tournaments overall, never finishing higher than sixth place in the nine-team field.

In the 10 years since Madison-Grant replaced Highland in the field, it had never beaten perennial favorites Pendleton Heights or Anderson. This year, it turned that trick in back-to-back games.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Argylls coach Scott Haley said. "It's huge kudos to these kids, who work hard. Obviously, nobody got to play last year, but they just continued to work hard during the fall and the winter. And they wanted it. They said, 'If we're coming over here, we might as well go ahead and win it.' So, yeah, it's a great accomplishment. I didn't realize (we beat) two 4A teams back-to-back, so that's huge for our program."

It's well earned.

Evans had to be scratched from a scheduled start Thursday against Pendleton Heights in the semifinals because of a sore shoulder. The arm was still enough of a problem it was unclear whether he'd be able to start against the Indians (7-1) until less than an hour before game time.

He played catch during pregame warmups to test the pain threshold and told Haley he was ready to go.

Then he went out and threw 112 pitches, struck out 11, walked two and surrendered seven hits and four earned runs while recording 17 high-leverage outs. It's a clutch performance every Argylls starter will be measured by in big moments in years to come.

"Honestly, I expected to be in a little bit (of pain), but the adrenaline, the setting — it's just awesome," Evans said. "I didn't even feel a thing out there. It was just so great to be out there."

His teammates proved equally resilient.

Madison-Grant (5-1) stunned the Tribe with four runs in the first inning — highlighted by a two-run single from Beckley, an RBI single by Evans and a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Braiden Ross — and led 5-0 after Beckley drove in his third run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third.

But Anderson fought back with five runs in the bottom of the frame and appeared to steal the momentum. Isaiah Allen got the Indians on the board with an RBI single, James Weaver severely cut into the deficit with a two-run single and Conner Stephenson tied the game with a two-out, two-run single.

That could have — and perhaps should have — marked a turning point. But the Argylls simply wouldn't allow it.

"That's what we've preached all in the fall and winter is just put the ball in play," Haley said. "If we have a bad inning, let it go. It's history, so just keep moving forward."

Brayden Shoemaker drew a walk to lead-off the fourth, Teagan Yeagy followed with a one-out single and Cole Hasty doubled both runners home to put Madison-Grant back on top for good. A single by Mason Richards pushed the lead to 8-5 and knocked Tribe starter Jacob Lee out of the game.

Chad Harbert greeted reliever Allen with an RBI-single, and the Argylls added two more runs on a wild pitch and a third strike that eluded the catcher and bounced all the way to backstop to take a commanding 11-5 lead.

"I give them all the credit 'cause they came in here, they matched our intensity, they wanted it and, hey, things happen," Anderson coach Adrian Heim said. "We're disappointed 'cause we got here for the first time (in seven years) and had a chance to win it, but it wasn't meant to be."

The Indians put together a rally in the fifth inning — scoring three runs on a single by Tristen Brooks, an error and a wild pitch — but managed just a pair of baserunners with the game on the line in the final two innings.

With his pitch count soaring, Evans struck out the first two batters in the sixth before issuing a walk and being removed from the mound. Beckley got a strikeout to end the frame before walking the lead-off batter in the seventh and following with another strikeout and a pair of flyouts to end the game.

The final out was a popup that landed in Yeagy's glove at second base and set off a celebration at least a decade in the making.

"After he caught that, it was crazy," Beckley said. "The feeling that went through all of us was just — knowing that we made it this far, to beat these two great teams, just felt good."

Anderson must regroup quickly with a North Central Conference home-and-home series against Richmond on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Heim said this one will sting for awhile. He became the first coach to lead two different schools to the final (Elwood, 2009) but will have to wait at least another year to become the first to win the tournament with two teams.

"Our goals are still in front us," Heim said. "Like I told them, you don't want to be standing here a month from now or six weeks from now and play like that when you have a chance to win the sectional. We're gonna be in the middle of it. We know we have a chance. They're gonna have to beat us, too."

For Madison-Grant, this is validation of all the hard work that's gone into the program the last few years.

The Argylls finished 3-22 as recently as 2018 and already have nearly matched their win total from 2019, when they were 6-15.

This championship is tangible evidence the program is rapidly improving.

And that this is a team to be reckoned with.

"I hope people recognize us now, especially after this," Evans said. "They should."

Undeniably.