Ellis' blast lifts A's

Chace Ellis provided the heroics.
Kyle Barbeck and Bret Schwartz set the table.
That combination resulted in a stunning victory for the Blue Springs Rod’s Sports Athletics Friday night in the winners’ bracket of the American Legion Baseball Central Plains-Region 6 Tournament.
Ellis slugged a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to cap a four-run rally and lift the A’s to an 8-7 victory over the Iowa state champion, Dubuque Post 6.
“He had a terrific night,” A’s manager Mike Rooney said of Ellis. “That (home run) was a pretty big one. The funny thing about it is the catcher was begging the coach to walk him and the coach wouldn’t do it. It was poetic justice. The pitcher and catcher were wanting to walk him. They threw a pitch inside and the next pitch went to the outer limits. He had one heck of a game.”
Ellis and Barbeck provided most of the offense Friday as each went 4-for-5 with Ellis getting four RBIs and Barbeck scoring four runs as the A’s (52-6) advanced to a Saturday night game against Omaha (Neb.) Post 374 (37-16).
“We had about two or three two-out rallies, and it seemed like every time Kyle would get on and Chace would drive him in,” Rooney said. “Late in the game, Kyle was walking around the dugout saying, ‘Chace has been driving people in all night. Let’s step up and get something done.’”
Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, Bret Sutton led off with a single off Dubuque reliever Jeremy Gerardy.
Robert Radabaugh entered for Dubuque and forced Matt July to hit into a fielder’s choice.
But Schwartz tripled to right-center field to score July. Barbeck followed with a single to left field to cut the deficit to one and bring Ellis to the plate, and he delivered in the clutch with the game-winning blast.
“This was gigantic,” Rooney said. “If we dip down, we have to play at least three games to get back to the championship game. Now if we win one more, we only have one more for the title. It was a big swing – a gigantic swing.”
Dubuque took a 1-0 lead on Matt McCullough’s RBI single in the top of the fourth inning.
The A’s, though, responded to tie it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Barbeck and Ellis singled before Sam Guffey drove in Barbeck with a single down the left-field line.
Dubuque, though, regained the lead quickly on Colin Rea’s RBI single in the top of the fifth.
Post 6 made it 5-1 in the sixth on four hits, a walk and an error to chase A’s starter Kyle Seithel. The final run was unearned.
The A’s cut the deficit to 5-3 with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Barbeck again started a two-out rally in the sixth with a hit and scored on Ellis’ RBI double to right-center field.
Bret Sutton scored his brother Zach on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cut the deficit to two.
But Nathan Ramler, who went 4-for-5, slugged a two-run home run off Schwartz in the top of the seventh to put Dubuque ahead 7-3.
“I thought that broke our backs,” Rooney said of the home run by Ramler. “But the kids didn’t quit. They kept fighting all night.”
Barbeck and Ellis teamed up again in the eighth to keep the A’s within striking distance. Barbeck led off with a single and scored on Ellis’ second RBI double to right-center field.
Schwartz picked up the victory, allowing four hits and striking out six in just 3 1/3 innings in relief of Seithel. Seithel allowed 13 hits and two walks and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings.
The A’s finished with 14 hits, including two by Seth Neely. Dubuque pounded out 17 hits but left 12 runners on base.