A day’s delay didn’t make North Pike’s first round playoff series any less interesting.
In the best of three series to open the 3A State Playoffs, the Jaguars fell in the first game 2-0 and staved off elimination in the second, winning 8-7.
The two teams will play the rubber match at 6 tonight in Columbia after dueling it out in two prototypical playoff games on Saturday.
“We made the plays and they made the plays,” North Pike head coach George Lott said. “That’s what you expect in the playoffs.”
The Jaguars kept the pressure off themselves early in the second game of the afternoon.
After tallying two hits in the opener, Lott was optimistic with a righthander on the mound for the Wildcats.
“We’ve done a decent job hitting righthanded pitchers this year,” Lott said.
The Jaguars proved his confidence worthwhile.
North Pike responded to a run in the first by Columbia, with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. In the third, a two-out RBI single from Shaun Green plated Justin Badon for a 3-1 lead.
Arin Rimes followed him with a two-run single that dropped just outside the infield.
The 5-1 lead was the foundation for an easier go of it for the final three innings, but Columbia came back to tie in the fifth.
North Pike starter Casey Paulk had gotten out of a jam in the fourth, striking out the final two batters with the bases loaded after a run had scored to keep it 5-2.
The Jaguars added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Keiron Robinson.
A Columbia leadoff homer in the fifth only looked like it would close the gap further as Paulk retired the next two batters.
With two outs, Columbia stormed back. A screamer up the middle put Taylor Humphries on. Mandela Mingo doubled to right as rightfielder Drew Worthy tried to make a twisting, jumping catch near the wall.
Tyler Simmons followed Mingo with a home run to left that squared the game at 6.
Two straight hit batters earned Paulk an exit from the game, but Revis Butler handled the rest — on the mound and at the plate.
In the bottom of the sixth, Robbie Hill drew a leadoff walk. After a strikeout, Robinson drew a walk of his own.
Badon drove his second run of the day with a single to right to make it 7-6. The relay from the first baseman to the plate was wide and allowed Robinson to advance to third.
Butler flew out to center to drive in Robinson and make it 8-6.
The extra run came in handy after Humphries pounded a home run to left field to make it 8-7. Butler came back and got two popups and a groundout to end the game and send the Jaguars to Columbia for the third and deciding game.
In the first game, Dustin Miller pitched seven innings for the Jaguars and allowed just one earned run that came in the fourth inning. He struck out five over those seven and held North Pike in the game.
“Miller pitched one of the best games I’ve seen in the playoffs,” Lott said.
While Miller delivered a stellar performance, Columbia’s Mingo did him one better, shutting out the Jaguars.
North Pike had two hits from their first two batters before Mingo shut down the offense for the next six innings, striking out 13.
Mingo struck out the next three batters in the first to keep Keiron Robinson from moving off second.
The Jaguars did a runner on third in the fifth, thanks mostly to a walk and a balk, but North Pike didn’t score the run.
Tonight, Lott will be focused on his offense. Whether Mingo gets the start or not, North Pike “will have to match them hit for hit,” Lott said.
