In need of a road sweep to keep its season alive, Parklane’s baseball team jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Oak Forest Academy before the game was called due to inclement weather on Thursday.
The third-seeded Pioneers dominated defensively through five innings against the top-seeded Yellow Jackets during the semifinals of the MAIS South 5A playoffs.
Parklane certainly played like its season was on the line early, as it silenced the home crowd by taking a 1-0 lead into the second inning.
The lone run came as a result of some methodical base running from senior Jax Toler, who led off by reaching first via a wild pitch.
Fellow senior CJ Wall then delivered a well-placed sacrifice bunt to move his teammate to second, and sophomore Eli Chandler did the same thing but managed to beat the throw to first, putting runners on the corners.
After Chandler proceeded to steal second, a sacrifice pop fly from senior Collin Smith scored Toler before the at-bat came to an end.
And it was three-up and three-down for OFA in the bottom frame, as senior Aidan Nickles got off to a strong start on the mound and his defense backed him up well.
Chandler scooped up a line drive and secured the first out, and Smith pulled in a fly ball for the second.
Then, another freshman in Nick Young slid for a nice snag at second, and he fired a throw to first to close the first inning.
The Pioneers failed to add to their lead, but their defense continued to shine during the bottom frame.
The Yellow Jackets started off with a deep shot to center field for a single. But Nickles retired a batter right after, and another sliding grab from Young put two outs on the board.
And despite the runner stealing second, Nickles’ second strikeout of the frame kept points off the board.
It was the exact same story in the third, as Parklane held on to its 1-0 advantage thanks to another pair of strikeouts from Nickles and a fly out.
But right after, the Pioneer offense again found its rhythm.
Smith started the fourth inning with a single, and a sac-bunt from Young moved him to second.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast signee proceeded to steal third, and after senior George Glass was walked, Smith scored off an infield chopper from junior Braxton Hughes.
Glass then pushed the lead to 3-0 when he stole third and home off a wild pitch and ensuing errant throw, bringing the traveling Parklane faithful to their feet as their team took control of the game.
But Oak Forest was ready with a response in the bottom frame.
After Smith made a leaping grab at the wall to prevent a base hit, the Yellow Jackets’ Cole Covington made sure the next one made it over when he launched a ball past the center-field wall.
Wall brought the frame to a close when he made his own snag in deep-left, keeping the score at 3-1 heading into the fifth inning.
And a pitching change did little to halt Parklane’s offensive momentum. A Toler single was followed by another well-played bunt from Wall, and déjà vu struck when Chandler bunted and beat a throw just like he did in the first inning.
Chandler then stole second and Smith was walked to load the bases with Young stepping to the plate.
He clipped the ball for an infield chopper, but a poor throw to home allowed Toler to score with no outs recorded.
It was in this moment that the sky decided to open up. Lighting initially delayed the game around 6 p.m., but then a downpour of rain set in.
An initial start time of 6:45 was announced after the rain let up briefly…and then a monsoon began. Thus, the game was ultimately called around 7:30 p.m. and will resume Friday at 5 p.m.
Game Three would take place afterwards if necessary.
