WRENTHAM – Alex Lutfy discovered himself ready athletes at all times envision themselves in, and he delivered within the clutch.
The senior linked for a walk-off single within the backside of the seventh inning Monday, as No. 4 King Philip punched a ticket to the Div. 1 baseball semifinals with an unforgettable 2-1 victory over Hockomock League nemesis No. 12 Franklin.
“You may’t make that feeling up,” Lutfy stated afterward. “It’s like Christmas morning. I don’t understand how else to place it. Most likely the best factor I’ve ever completed.”
The victory sends King Philip to the Remaining 4 for the third time in 4 seasons. The Warriors (20-4) had been additionally propelled by their ace, Cam Hasenfus. The senior fired an entire sport, permitting only one run on seven hits whereas hanging out 4.
King Philip struck within the backside of the primary, as Drew Hanlin grounded right into a fielder’s option to plate a run from third. Proper out of the gate, the Warriors had a 1-0 edge.
Nevertheless, this sport didn’t flip right into a slugfest. Hasenfus engaged in a duel with Franklin standout Zach Winer. Whereas each pitchers had minor hiccups as issues progressed, they every seemingly discovered their method out of hassle time and time once more.
When the fourth inning rolled round, the Panthers (14-11) answered. Drake McAlpine lined an RBI single to middle, as Franklin knotted the rating at 1-all.
In a while within the backside of the sixth, it appeared King Philip had an opportunity to interrupt issues open because the Warriors loaded the bases with two outs.
With the strain mounting, Winer reared again and fired dwelling his closing strikeout of the day to finish the body. The senior let loose a roar in celebration as his teammates mobbed him on the dugout.
After Hasenfus stranded a runner within the high half of the seventh, the Warriors got here to the plate, trying to stroll issues off. They loaded the bases, as followers started to face in anticipation. With two outs, Lutfy stepped to the plate.
Possibly it was destiny. Sunday evening, Lutfy had a dream the place he was in exactly the identical spot.
“I did,” laughed Lutfy. “I’m not going to lie. I did. … I hoped it might occur. I used to be prepared.”
Lutfy launched a deep shot to left. The tumbling catch try got here up quick, and the Warriors stormed the sphere in pandemonium.
“(Lutfy) stated he needed it from the start of the inning,” Hasenfus stated. “He received it, and he received the job completed. It’s unbelievable. He’s an excellent teammate, nice participant. It was unreal.”
Winer carried Franklin all sport, tossing six innings whereas permitting one run on two hits and 5 walks to go along with seven strikeouts.
The win units up a bout with No. 8 Braintree within the semifinals for King Philip.
“We battle Franklin yearly,” stated King Philip coach Jeff Plympton Jr. “They’ve had our quantity for fairly some time. This 12 months, we received our first two wins towards them, in all probability since 2016. We didn’t need to lose this one. If we received these two, we needed to win this one.”
