VIRGINIA BEACH – Find a way to win.
Pete Zell preached those words to his Ocean Lakes baseball team between every inning of Wednesday’s Coastal Conference tournament championship against First Colonial.
After 3 1/2 hours, nine innings and a blown chance to end the game in the bottom of the seventh, his Dolphins found a way.
Tied 6-6 in the top of the ninth, sophomore outfielder Brenden McDonald lined an RBI double to score senior Corey Hinds for the eventual game-winning run in a dramatic 8-6 win over the rival Patriots.
“Good teams find a way to win,” Zell said. “If you can convince your guys that they’re a good team, it makes all the difference in the world when push comes to shove and you’re down up against it at the end. It’s never over and we found a way to get it going.”
Wednesday’s game played out the way any baseball fan hopes a championship final will. While both clubs had already clinched a berth in the 6A South Region tourney and didn’t have much at stake, the Coastal rivals competed for pride.
First Colonial entered the game winners of five straight and as the conference regular season champs.
The Dolphins, despite losing both regular season games against the Patriots, felt they belonged in the conversation as one of the area’s top teams. They handed First Colonial just its second loss of the season.
“It just feels like it was our time,” Zell said. “When you’re playing for a championship, you feel it a little more. This meant a lot for the kids.”
Dolphins seniors Hinds and Chase Counts were the catalysts, as they have been all season.
Hinds had the game’s most productive outing at the plate, notching three hits for 4 RBIs and scoring the game-winning run. He reached base in all five at-bats. First Colonial, showing their respect for the clutch hitter, intentionally walked him in the sixth inning.
Counts may have pitched his best game of the season against one of the state’s best hitting lineups.
The senior righty allowed just four hits and one run with two strikeouts in six innings of work. Counts got out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh after allowing the tying run and retired the final six Patriots batters in a row. He also hit 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.
“They’re the foundation for us,” Zell said of his seniors. “Those guys are just warriors and they play big. They’re fun to coach because they play hard.”
Dolphins junior Nate Clements added an insurance run in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single that scored McDonald.
In their loss, First Colonial showed the resiliency they’ve displayed all season.
The Patriots scored two runs in the fourth to pull within 6-5. In the bottom of the seventh, with the bases loaded, junior Tommy Green skied an RBI sacrifice fly to center field. That scored Riley Clifford to even the game at 6-6 and force extra innings.
Green was the Patriots’ go-to hitter, finishing with three hits and three RBIs.
Wednesday’s marathon featured nine different pitchers (six from First Colonial, three from Ocean Lakes). Each team had nine hits and left 10 runners on base, including seven in scoring position for each.
“It was a fun game of who wanted it more between two good teams,” Zell said. “It’s one of those games where it could go either way at the end and our guys found a way.”
Both clubs start 6A South Region play on Monday.
