Staff writer
kjacobsen@observer-reporter.com
There probably aren't many people who feel better this morning than Chris Hubbard.
Hubbard was the starting pitcher for Long Beach, Calif. against Kingwood, Texas in the third game of the Pony League World Series. He is the team's ace and threw a complete game last Wednesday to win the West Zone tournament.
On Sunday, however, he looked like anything but an ace.
He labored through three innings, throwing 68 pitches. He struck out six batters but walked four and threw two wild pitches. Although he allowed just one run, it was a forgettable outing.
In three at-bats, he had a groundout and two strikeouts.
But he redeemed himself in a big way. Twice.
Hubbard had two game-tying hits in do-or-die situations and scored the winning run as Long Beach stunned Kingwood, 7-6, in nine innings.
"I feel pretty good," said Hubbard. "I knew I had a chance."
Long Beach plays Washington Tuesday at 8 p.m. Kingwood plays Central Michigan at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Hubbard batted with runners on second and third. He took a ball from Trevor Odom - who just entered the game - then drilled the next pitch over the wall in right-centerfield for a game-tying, three-run homer.
"I looked fastball and I got it," Hubbard said. "I knew as soon as I hit it that it was gone."
The home run fully erased what had been a 5-1 deficit.
The game went into the ninth inning, where Kingwood went ahead, 6-5, on Scott Davis' RBI-single. In the bottom half, Spencer Troutman led off with a double - his third of the game - to set the table for Hubbard. After fouling off two pitches with a full count, Hubbard laced a shot off the left-field wall, scoring Troutman.
But Hubbard ended up only at first base.
"I kind of gave it a little (home run) trot," he said.
He made up for the showmanship by stealing second base. After a walk, he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Dylan Romo dropped down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to bring home Hubbard with the winning run.
"Chris stepped up," said Long Beach manager Rick Romo. "He's a gamer and he came through. That was a good situation to use the squeeze. Dylan's a great bunter."
Kingwood had seemingly taken control of the game in the sixth inning, when it scored three times to take a 5-1 lead. Jared Pinson's two-run single was the key hit of the inning.
"We've been in this situation before," said Kingwood manager Rusty Odom. "It's a tough loss but it's not one where we feel we didn't belong in the ballpark. We feel confident we can bounce back."