By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

HUNTINGDON - Tuesday evening, somebody had to win and somebody had to lose in the Region 7A baseball championship.

Truth be told, McKenzie probably deserved to win the game. Junior southpaw Nick Chappell pitched 6 2/3 hitless innings and the Rebels, for 7 1/3 innings, turned in perhaps its best defensive effort of the year. Truth be told, both McKenzie and Huntingdon played well enough to win.

But the Mustangs found a a way in the bottom of the eighth, taking advantage of an error and a base hit to push across the lone run of the game. Huntingdon 1, McKenzie 0. It was the third time in as many seasons that Huntingdon has defeated McKenzie in the 7A finals by one run. In 2006, McKenzie suffered an 8-7 loss against visiting Huntingdon at McKenzie City Park. Last year, Huntingon scored a run on two hits in the fourth to claim a 1-0 victory at Mustang Park.

The Rebels had been stingy on defense all afternoon and made one air-tight pay after another, making the difficult look routine. Clint Kee relieved a gassed Chappell in the eighth. Kee worked to Cole McAdams, who reached on a lead-off error. Kee struck out Burke and had two strikes on Lucas Dill, who poked a dribbler up the middle, which scored McAdams.

That was pretty much that. McKenzie, 24-10, will head to either Jackson Christian School or Middleton for a substate game. Huntingdon will host one of those two on Friday. The winner of that game goes to Murfreesboro, the loser ends the season.

The Region 7A game was supposed to be held Wednesday night at Huntingdon, but was moved to Tuesday night instead, in anticipation of inclement weather.

"What can you say about Nick," said MHS coach Lynn Yarbrough of his junior lefty. "He pitched a great game and deserved to win; he got tired in the last two innings, but he stayed with it."

Chappell limited the Mustangs to one hit, a rope to right field by Colin Laman with two out in the seventh. The hurler retired the first two hitters then walked two. Brayden Baxter was next and he hit a grounder to third base, who fired to Derek Carr at second base to cut down Laman at second. It was a clutch play that alleviated a bases-loaded cunnundrum, which typified McKenzie's effort all afternoon.

In the sixth, Chappell got into a bases-loaded jam with two out. Carr gathered in a ground ball off the bat of Dill then tagged out Blake Burke at second to bail out his pitcher. Prior to that, Chappell had only allowed two base runners.

"I was pleased with what we did defensively," said Yarbrough. "We just didn't hit the ball. Maybe we got all our hits last night."

It wasn't any one thing that spelled doom for the Rebels. Both Chappell and Kee pitched well enough on the mound. The defense played well enough to survive hiccups. Errors, yes, have been costly. Eleven errors against the Mustangs have led to numerous runs this year. And, inexplicably, McKenzie's bats have been dormant in their last four meetings with them. Senior Rusty Chapman singled and doubled for the Rebels, accounting for the only McKenzie hits.

MUstang pitcher Colin Hatch struck out six, walked one and beaned another. McKenzie stranded three. Huntingdon left seven on base.

"We got behind when we didn't swing at first-pitch strikes," said Yarbrough. "We hit well last night and we just didn't swing the bats tonight."

The Rebels had some big defensive plays. Luke Anderson cut down a runner at the pate in the third inning. Tyler Reeder scooped up four unassisted put outs. Drew Brown seemingly pegged McAdams at second base, but a controversial call ruled McAdams safe and he eventually scored the winning run in the eighth.

The Rebels will await the winner of Region 8A Friday. Yarbrough said he was going to watch the JCS-Middeoton game tomorrow and then the Rebels would be in the batting cage on Thursday.