By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Are you crying? There’s no crying. There’s no crying in baseball. Well, some mothers might disagree with Jimmy Dugan, when their little boy, now a young man, strides out on the diamond to punctuate his high school career during the Senior Night celebration. Even the most callous and cold-hearted feel the emotions that sweep over the soul.
Cal Gates and his Bedford North Lawrence classmates were honored during pregame ceremonies on Friday night. The festivities followed the usual script. Walk out with parents on their arms, accept the gifts from teammates and hugs from Mom, smile for the pictures. Then in mere minutes, there’s a game to win, and that switch from openly emotional to brutally efficient can be difficult.
For the Stars, it was not a problem. “When it’s game time, it’s game time,” Gates said. “We were done with the lovey-dovey stuff.”
And after one inning, Paoli was done. BNL needed six innings to finally vanquish the Rams by the mercy rule, but a seven-run opening frame was the kiss of death as the Stars pounded out an 11-1 victory, sending the senior foursome off in style while also helping head coach Steven McNabb record his 100th career win.
Every senior in the lineup – Gates, Tate Tanksley and Tyler Stigall – had a major hand in the win. If he was not going through another injury, Zade Carter would have been part of it as well. That’s the dream scenario for a Senior Night.
“That’s what it’s all about,” McNabb said. “That’s exactly what you want on a Senior Night. You love to send these guys out with a win. I’m proud of what they’ve done for us, not only with their play but their leadership.”
The seven-run blastoff was reminiscent of the eight-run barrage against Providence just 24 hours earlier. Tanksley started the scoring with a RBI single, Jaden Gilbert singled in another run, pinch runner Charlie Keith slid home on the back end of an aggressive double steal, and Jackson Jones stroked a single for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, Stigall cranked a run-scoring single, and Gates crashed a two-run double off the fence in left-center field.
“We took advantage of the energy we had,” McNabb said. “We swung the bats really well that first inning. That’s back-to-back nights of getting off to good starts.”
From that point, the end seemed inevitable. After Paoli (9-8) scored its run in the fourth with a bases-loaded walk, the Stars surged toward an early conclusion. They scored in the fourth (RBI single by Jackson Jones), two more in the fifth (Lucas Ira connected for a two-out, two-run single) and the final run in the sixth (Stigall with the walk-off RBI double).
“Senior Night is a big thing, everyone looks forward to it,” Stigall said. “Playing with the group you grew up with, one last time. We grew up together. BNL baseball put us together as one big family. I wouldn’t want to grow up with any other kids. They’re always there when you need something.“
Stigall, Gilbert and Jones had two hits each. Gates, Ira, Jones and Stigall had two RBIs apiece. Everyone had a piece of this win.
Cam Gates worked all six innings on the mound and allowed only two hits (while walking five). Kirkland Hughes had both hits for the Rams.
BNL improved to 16-6 with its fourth straight win.
“There’s been adversity,” Tanksley said. “You keep going through it, through the grind.”
McNabb’s milestone, reached in his first season with the Stars, was an extra layer for the storyline.
”It makes me think about all the people that helped me get here,” he said. “It’s not a Hall of Fame number by any means, but it means something to me. I think back to all the hours, all the players that have played for me. It’s not just me. The guys make the plays and do the things to win. It makes me realize how lucky I’ve been.”
BNL still has other home games left on the schedule, starting Saturday with Vincennes Rivet.
