GALION ― The scene was set.
Bottom of the ninth, the winning run on second base and Galion senior Allen Carver steps into the box after watching his classmate Braxton Prosser intentionally walked.
“When they walked Braxton, I knew it was my time to shine,” Carver said.
Before squaring up to bat, he glanced at his coach at third base.
“He’s looking at me — you’re gonna have me bunt here — because that’s usually that’s why he’s there, to move runners around,” Galion coach Kenny Fagan said. “But I told him go win the game.
“And one pitch later, he does.”
Carver belted a line drive down the third base line to score pinch runner Trey Fricke and cap off Senior Night on a high note with a 2-1 win over River Valley.
“It’s like a movie ending, I’m so happy for him and his journey through the program,” Fagan said.
After Prosser scored the opening run on an error in the bottom of the first, Galion held onto a 1-0 lead until the Vikings evened it up in the top of the sixth when Hudson Pollock stole third and proceeded home on an errant throw.
From there, it became a pitching duel between Prosser and River Valley relievers Pate Crawford and Hunter Faust.
“We told the guys yesterday that River Valley’s record does not reflect how good they are,” Fagan said. “They’re a good baseball team — they got some dudes — so we knew we were in for a battle.
“But I can’t ask for more from Braxton on the mound with nine innings today. It’s nuts right now with the pitch count, you don’t see that a ton. And in between innings he’s telling them to dig in, do whatever it takes.”
Prosser prevailed throwing 109 pitches, struck out eight, walked two, and allowed three hits.
“He just gets up there and fires,” Fagan said. “He’s got a really talented arm and he can throw four pitches for a strike — and we use all of them. It’s just really fun to watch.”
All four seniors got the start, with Prosser recording two hits, Carver adding the winning RBI single, Max Albert recording a hit and drawing a walk, and Nate McMullen nearly sending one out of the park on two occasions.
“I was really hoping (McMullen) would get into one,” Fagan said. “He doesn’t play a ton, but he’s been an awesome four-year player for us. The other three guys are four-year starters for us, so it’s been really special and a really good journey for those guys.”
The win was Galion’s 14th of the season, which is already the second most this senior class has won in a season. There are still five games to play in the regular season plus tournament play, where the Tigers could be awarded the top-seed in their district this weekend.
“We couldn’t ask for a better senior night,” Carver said.
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: ‘It was my time to shine:’ Carver walk-off powers Galion past River Valley on Senior Night
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum / Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
