FAYETTEVILLE - Valley View could hardly have chosen a more exciting way of winning its first state championship.
The Blazers rallied from a three-run deficit Saturday morning, then relied on some spectacular defense to hold off Rivercrest 5-4 in the Class 4A title game at Baum Stadium.
"It's unbelievable," Valley View Coach John Burgi said. "Four or five years ago, nobody knew about Valley View baseball. The seniors deserve it. They've worked so hard."
Rivercrest (28-4) led 4-1 midway through the fifth, but Valley View (32-2) rallied to tie it with three runs in the bottom of the inning and went ahead with a run in the sixth.
The Colts got their first two runners on in the seventh, but Valley View catcher Kevin Burgi threw out the lead runner trying to steal third. Rivercrest then loaded the bases with one out, but second baseman Chase Cooper snagged ahard grounder and fired it to shortstop Dustin Jones for the second out, and Jones quickly got the ball to first base to complete a 4-6-3 double play and secure the championship.
The double play made a winner out of Valley View pitcher Codie Rollins, who was named the tournament's most valuable player. Rollins went the distance, giving up 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6.
Rollins seemed to get tougher as the game went on. He allowed just 3 hits and 1 run over the final 4 innings.
"We weren't going to take him out," John Burgi said. "Codie adjusts so well. He's not an overpowering guy, but he can make pitches. He started figuring things out and he just competed. Two years ago he wouldn't have done that."
Rivercrest's Zach George scored the game's first run on a single by Michael George in the first, but Valley View's Jacob Ashburn hit an RBI doublein the second to tie it 1-1.
The Blazers intentionally walked Michael George with two outs in the third, and left fielder Josh Fleming made them pay for that decision, hitting atwo-run triple to give Rivercrest a 3-1 lead. The Colts made it a three-run game when Kenneth Burton scored on George's bloop double in the fifth.
But f irst baseman Cade Lynch led off bottom of the fifth with a home run to left, and that seemed to spark the Blazers. Jones scored on an RBI single by Billy Ninemire, and they tied it when Thad Thornburg scored on a wild pitch by Zach George.
Zach George went the distance, striking out 9, walking 1 and giving up 9 hits. Only one of Valley View's runs was unearned, but it proved to be the game-winner.
Jacob Ashburn reached on a sixth-inning error, moved to second on a bunt single by Chase Cooper, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Aaron Moore grounded out to first.
"You can't make mistakes against good teams," Rivercrest Coach Johnny Fleming said. "That's a good team. They're going to keep hitting, keep putting pressure on you."
Sports, Pages 41 on 05/18/2008