Fri, Jul 04 2008
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Published May 14, 2008 01:06 am - RIVERTON, Kan. — Galena coach Ken Cook headed to the mound in the top of the seventh, fully intending to put an end to Dakota Walker’s pitching night. Walker and the Bulldogs, however, had other plans. The Galena players talked Cook into leaving Walker on the mound and Walker then made the decision pay off. He got Baxter Springs’ Ayrek Smith to ground out to third, ending the Lions’ two-run rally and sending Galena to the Class 3A state tournament with a 4-3 win at Riverton. Galena holds off Baxter Springs By Ryan Atkinson
ratkinson@joplinglobe.com RIVERTON, Kan. — Galena coach Ken Cook headed to the mound in the top of the seventh, fully intending to put an end to Dakota Walker’s pitching night. Walker and the Bulldogs, however, had other plans. The Galena players talked Cook into leaving Walker on the mound and Walker then made the decision pay off. He got Baxter Springs’ Ayrek Smith to ground out to third, ending the Lions’ two-run rally and sending Galena to the Class 3A state tournament with a 4-3 win at Riverton. Galena topped Frontenac 13-6 in the day’s first game. Baxter Springs rallied with one in the sixth and three in the seventh and then survived Riverton’s two-run spurt in the bottom of the seventh for a 4-3 win in the other semifinal. “When I went out there, I had already made my mind up that I was going to pull (Walker),” Cook said. “But I got out there and every infielder had his back. They all said that this was Dakota’s game and they wanted him to finish it, so I left him in.” The win sends Galena to Manhattan, Kan., for its first state tournament since 2005, when the Bulldogs lost to Silver Lake in the title game. It also means the Lions won’t be able to defend their two consecutive state championships. “It’s huge to be able to go to state, but it’s also nice to beat a team that has won it the last two years,” said Mitch Albright, Galena’s lone senior. “It’s big for me because, counting my freshman year, I’ll get to go to state with both of my brothers.” Troy Albright is a freshman this year and Travis was a senior when the 2005 team went to state. Albright can thank Walker and a bend-but-don’t-break Bulldog defense for the latest state berth. Walker went all seven innings, allowing just two earned runs and six hits while striking out eight, including two in the seventh. He got out of bases-loaded jams in the fifth and sixth, allowing just one run. Galena entered the seventh with a 4-1 lead before Jordan Krokroskia walked and Riley Edmondson doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. Walker then fanned Zack Wilson and Kory Marrett to reduce the game to one out, but Cody Wren doubled down the left field line to cut the Bulldog lead to 4-3 and put the tying run at second. Cook, however, stuck with Walker, who induced the weak grounder to third to end the game. “I knew the defense was behind me,” Walker said. “Even when they got within one, I knew we still had it.” 
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