HANOVER ― Five is a very symbolic number for the Whisner family.
So when St. Louisville Maci’s Army, named after a little girl who inspired many, rallied from a 5-0 deficit with a five-run inning and won the 81st Shrine Varsity Division championship on June 15, it came as no surprise. They then scored four in the last inning to beat Granville Ford Electric 10-6 at Licking Valley’s Legacy Park.
“She died at five years, five months and five days,” Maci’s mother Karissa Whisner said of her daughter, whose determined fight to overcome a major heart defect and three surgeries touched numerous lives with “half the heart, twice the fight.” She died in 2021, and big brother Jake plays for Maci’s Army, with dad Josh Whisner as head coach and grandpa Randy Whisner as assistant coach. The team is sponsored by Wolford’s Show Pigs.
“Jake found comfort in baseball, and was able to channel his emotions into playing the game,” Karissa said. “This team was a way to honor Maci, and he and his teammates have bonded together through all of it. The way Jake and the team came back today was the way Maci fought back, and that’s what they do.”
Ford Electric dropped an earlier 6-5 contest to Maci’s during play in a league that features teams from several Licking County League schools. They play again Saturday, but the Granville team looked primed to even the series in the Shrine after Jack Tallman’s grand slam homer in the third inning staked them to the 5-0 lead.
But in the fourth, Archer Ley of Maci’s answered with a grand slam of his own to tie the score, and when Kaleb Jefferson scored on a wild pitch, they led 6-5. However, Ford Electric rallied to tie it 6-6 in the fifth.
Maci’s would not be denied. Jake Whisner, who went 2 for 2 and scored twice, led off the sixth with a single and scored on Hudson Hill’s double. Jefferson delivered a two-run double and stole home as the Army finished with a flourish. He and Whisner each stole three bases and Hill added two. Nixon Biggs added two hits and Logan Rine got the win in relief.
‘We really fought back. Everyone rallied the team and we played together,” Jake said. “We had to rally back for Maci, and for each other. We had some other players going through things, too. It took all of us.”
Ley was not surprised by the rally. Maci’s is now 20-0.
“All year, even if we’re down, we come back like that,” he said. “It was exciting. After my first at bat, I had to slow it down and get a good, solid swing. It was a fastball, right down the middle. We won the Early Bird at the start of the season, but this is the biggest tournament I’ve ever played in.”
Ford Electric, also having a great season at 18-3, got two hits, four stolen bases and an RBI from Cameron Smith, while Vince Tallman also had two hits and stole two bases. Caleb Mackey knocked in a run and Caden Barber had a steal.
“It was a good matchup between two quality teams, and both teams can really hit the ball,” said Ford coach Mike Schmitt. “Our defense let us down a little bit, but I don’t want to blame one thing. It was nice to get ahead, but we kind of got deflated after the second grand slam. We have a good group of kids who has really developed over these four months, especially the bottom of the order.”
Licking Valley Youth Sports Association took over hosting the Shrine from Mound City this year, and Maci’s wasn’t the only team which left Legacy Park undefeated. North Newark Mattingly moved to 14-0 after beating Licking Valley Wright Brothers 7-4 for the Farm Division title.
Logan Ford got Mattingly off to a good start with a first-inning RBI triple, and winning pitcher Max Hahn followed with a two-run inside the park homer as they jumped ahead 4-0. After Wright Brothers sliced it to 4-3, Hahn settled down, pitching a five-hitter with five strikeouts and two walks.
Benson Jones had an RBI hit in the third and Roman Cotterman a run-scoring hit in the seventh as Mattingly cemented its title.
“This means a lot and it feels so good,” Hahn said. “We have a really good team and all of us came in with a lot of confidence. It wasn’t just me that got this done. It was all of us.”
Coach Ryan Nutter called it a total team victory. Emerson Embree went 3 for 3 and scored twice with two steals, Jones went 2 for 2 and scored twice with two steals, while Max Baker drove home two runs. Mattingly played errorless baseball.
“We lean on Max (Hahn) a lot for pitching, and he’s come a long way,” Nutter said. “I couldn’t be more proud of all of them. Emerson came across well at first base, Logan caught that wicked shot at third, Benson had those two big hits and Roman came through for us. And our outfielders didn’t let anything get past them.”
Connor Malone had two hits and an RBI for Wright Brothers. Lukas Jackson also drove in a run, while Trenton Machnel stole three bases, and Jayden Stickle and Knox Bralley two apiece.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Maci’s Army shows up in force, claims Shrine Varsity championship
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate | USA TODAY Network
