As the MacArthur baseball team held up its Region 3 championship plaque, marking its ticket to the State 5A Tournament next week, the Highlanders had finally reached their destination that had plotted out last December.
While posing for photos and hoisting one finger to show they were No. 1 in the region, the Highlanders proved once and for all on Friday afternoon that they had finally exorcised their demons by holding on to defeat Eisenhower 11-9 in the regional final.
"These guys were on a mission," Mac coach Rodney DeLong said. "It's such a wonderful feeling."
Their city rival had defeated them three out of four times, including a stunning loss on Thursday to shove Mac to the brink of elimination. Eisenhower seemed to have Mac's number, but when it mattered most, it was the district champ, Mac, who prevailed, clinching its first State berth since 2003.
"These guys have worked their tails off the entire season, day in and day out," DeLong said. "I'm tough on them, but they continued to get better. We talked about getting here two to three times a week in practices. Even when we played poorly, my response to them was, 'That's not how a state tournament team plays. We have to pick up our level of play to belong in the state tournament.'"
The Highlanders picked up their level of play from the get go. Mac jumped out of the gates in the first inning -- stringing together five straight two-out hits, including four doubles -- to plate four runs and reclaim a 4-2 lead heading into the second inning.
"Our bats have been hot lately," Zac DeLong said. "And they got real hot today."
Michelle Artzberger got the two-out rally started when he skied a double to the right field wall. Rylan Webb then ripped an RBI double down the third base line before Racer Felter made it three two-baggers in a row wth his tying RBI to left-center.
Jack Smith joined the double party the next at-bat when he drubbed a ball to the left field wall, giving Mac the lead. To top it off, Kyle Engel singled to center, scoring Smith for a 4-2 lead.
"It was basically like passing the torch to the next guy," Artzberger said. "That just got our confidence going. We knew we could hit the ball well. We just needed a spark to get us going. Once we grabbed the lead, we were much more relaxed."
Ike caught Zac DeLong off guard in the first by scoring two quick runs. Alexander Paquin doubled to right field, scoring Jr. Ladore all the way from first base. Tyler Dunn returned the favor, scoring Paquin by ripping a single to centerfield to make it 2-0.
DeLong struck out two Eagles in a row to stop the bleeding, but after just half an inning, it looked as if the Eagles were poised to repeat Thursday's theatrics when they upset Mac 7-5 with six runs in the first.
Mac's response put a stop to any second day shenanigans Ike had up its sleeve.
"We just answered back in a big way," coach DeLong said. "There was a lot of excitement, a lot of nerves, but it swung it around toward our favor. At the plate, our boys are pretty locked in and confident."
Mac scored at least one run in each of its six innings at-bat.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders got a quality start from DeLong, who earned the win on the mound by tossing six innings and striking out eight batters while only yielding three earned runs -- two of which came in the first inning.
DeLong's biggest pitch of the game came when he punched his eighth and final strikeout of the game, retiring Ike's Alexander Paquin in the top of the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded. He knew what was at stake
"I just took a deep breath and didn't panic," DeLong said. "These guys are unbelievable. They're always loose and funny. But when it's game time, it's game time. This is now the best moment in high school I've had."
At that point, it appeared Mac was in the driver's seat. Just to be safe, Sam Smith ripped an RBI double down the first base line to build the Highlanders' cushion and put them up 11-3.
Every run would prove critical as Ike wouldn't go quietly.
With their season on the line, the Eagles exploded for six runs in the ninth before finally being put away.
Once DeLong exited the game after the sixth and Smith came onto finish the job, Ike's bats roared to life to ignite a comeback.
Jessup Cavis drove in two runs on a single before Ryan Shows singled to left field to drive in another and cut the lead to five, 11-6. Still with only one out, Jr. Ladore got a friendly hop down the third base line for a single to make it 11-7. Paquin would crash the hit party next by delivering two RBIs on his single to centerfield to make it 11-9.
"They didn't want to give into Mac in a city rivalry," Ike coach Jay Vermillion said. "It means a lot to them. When I see it means a lot to the kids, that makes me feel good as a coach. The kids are crying and are upset. You hate to see it, but it makes you feel good because they care so much about this game and this team."
But one final groundout to Artzberger at first base moments later would cut the Ike rally short, and the MacArthur celebration was on as the team dog pile grew near the mound.
"It's a great feeling, but this is only the beginning of it," Artzberger said. "We gotta practice hard and get ready for State next week. We got big goals to accomplish. We're ecstatic right now. This is a great experience for all of us."
Leading 5-3 in the third, Mac attempted a suicide squeeze bunt with runners on second and third with no outs. Instead, a wild pitch by Spencer Brown scored a Jack Smith. A second run would score moments later when Trey Longacre would reach on an Ike error to grant Mac a 7-3 lead.
Another Ike miscue in the fourth would cost the Eagles again. After being walked and stealing two bases, Artzberger flew home on another wild pitch for an 8-3 lead. Ike would commit one more error then in the fifth, yielding another Mac run. When Webb delivered his second RBI of the game with a single later in the inning, Mac was well in control with a 10-3 lead.
"Mac is a quality team. They swing it well," Vermillion said. "When you give them that big of a lead, it's hard to come back. But our guys battled hard and never gave up."
Ike finished 12-24 on the season and climbed all the way to fifth in the district standings. After making significant strides this season, Vermillion is eager to see the progress his team can continue to make.
"If you would've told me early on in the season that we would be in the regional final, I wouldn't have believed it," Vermillion said. "I'm pleased with where we are at, but at the same time, I expect to win. I grew up in the state tournament every year so I'm trying to give these kids the confidence to expect to be there and build a winning culture. The more experience our guys get, the better they're going to be."
To make it to the regional final, Ike eliminated Woodward with a 9-7 win despite committing nine team errors and keeping the Boomers in the game.
"When you make nine errors, you shouldn't win a playoff game," Vermillion said. "Somehow, we found a way."
Alex Young pitched a complete game and earned the win, after striking out Woodward batter Jay Laird with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh.
"We could've given up real easily, but we showed a lot of heart competing both games when we were low on pitching and beating a Woodward team that had beat us twice," Vermillion said. "Being in the regional finals, this is new to our kids. We're two or three runs from going to State. Our kids were in a new territory maybe a bit out of their comfort zone, but I thought they handled it well."