WALK OFF: Tyler Joice lifts Tigers past Metro Christian with seventh-inning RBI single
Mar. 18—Tyler Joice sent Tahlequah into a frenzy Thursday afternoon.
Joice delivered a clutch, two-out infield single in the seventh inning that scored Beckett Robinson from third base to give the Tigers a walk-off 6-5 win over Metro Christian in their home opener.
The win snapped a four-game slide for Tahlequah, who hadn't checked the win column since defeating Claremore in its season opener on March 3.
Joice, who was mobbed at first base by teammates afterwards, had two of the Tigers' six hits, going 2 for 4. The senior catcher also drove in a pair of runs.
Robinson set the table in the seventh when he lined a 1-2 pitch from Metro Christian reliever Griffin Jones that fell just short of the left field wall for a double. Robinson, who had had three stolen bases in the game, stole third base before a Brayden Northington groundout.
"Beckett got down on two bad pitches then almost hit one out of here, and Tyler was looking for a fastball and just creamed it," Tahlequah head coach Sam Nelson said. "It wasn't a pretty win, but it's better than a pretty loss."
Tahlequah (2-4) received a stellar performance from relief pitcher Brycen Smith to keep the Patriots in check. Smith, who earned the win, tossed scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, limited Metro Christian to two hits and recorded two strikeouts.
"Our pitchers competed well and kept us in the game," Nelson said. "We struggled again today, but we found a way. That's a big-time win. We respect their program a lot."
The Tigers had to overcome a 5-2 deficit. They pushed across a pair of runs in the third to get to within 5-4 and got even with a single run in the fifth.
Joice drove in his first run during the third on an RBI-groundout to plate Robinson from third and cut the Patriots lead to 5-3. Northington, who reached on a single to left field, later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-4. Robinson led off the inning with a walk.
In the fifth, Robinson got aboard on a dropped third strike, advanced to second base on a wild pitch, reached third on Northington's second hit and stole home for the game-tying run.
Tahlequah scored its first two runs, both with two outs, in the opening frame to go up 2-1. Jacob Morrison led off with a walk and later scored on a wild pitch, and Dylan Leep brought home courtesy runner Darryn Spahr on an infield single.
In a starting role, Eli Gibson allowed two earned runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. Gibson collected five strikeouts and issued three walks.
Northington joined Joice with two hits to spark the Tahlequah lineup. Robinson's seventh-inning double was the Tigers' only extra-base hit.
The Patriots (4-2) were paced by Brady Shackleford's game-high three hits. Metro Christian scored two runs apiece in the second and third innings.
Jones was handed the loss for Metro Christian. Jones gave up one earned run on two hits in two innings, while striking out four batters.
Tahlequah's rally in the seventh was drastically different from the previous six innings. The Tigers continued to struggle with putting the bat on the ball, striking out 12 times. The Tigers also committed six errors.
"We have such a young group when we're playing a bunch of sophomores and freshmen," Nelson said. "Sometimes the moment gets a little bit too much for us. Everybody wants to be the hero and hit the seven-run home run, but we settled in the seventh and did what we had to do."
The Tigers are scheduled to take on Rejoice Christian in a 1 p.m. start Friday at Metro Christian.
"We've had to play some good teams early and we've struggled," Nelson said. "I think it's ok to struggle early, as long as you learn from it. I think today we made some adjustments, but we've still got a lot to work on. Hopefully, today will be the start of something for us going forward."
