Eagles in Regionals for Fourth Straight Year

Eliminates Swink in 9-4 Qualifier

By Betsy Barnett

May 14, 2004

Despite two home runs by Swink pitcher Jeff Seamans the Eads Eagles, riding on the strong arm of junior Marcus Gilmore, managed to outlast the Swink Lions, 9-4, in District finals in Swink on Friday afternoon. The win advances Eads to their fourth-straight Regional appearance where they will be one of only two class 1A teams in a field of big 2A competitors. Granada is the only other small school who qualified for the regional tournament.

Gilmore was strong all day for Eads striking out 11 batters and walking only one. He would have a couple of shaky moments, once in the first and again in the fifth, when Seamans sent long homeruns over the short center field fence. The dinger in the fifth came with two aboard with Swink trailing Eads by two, 3-1, and gave the Lions a brief lead, 4-3, going into the last two innings of the season for one of the teams.

The Eagles would struggle offensively for most of the game as they had a number of opportunities but ended up hanging up 12 runners on the base pads. They would finally put some production together in the top of the fifth inning when junior catcher Dain Barnett would lead off with a single and Gilmore would follow with a walk. The third junior of the outstanding trio of juniors, Kelly Lindholm, would reach on an error juicing the bases. And it came down to the lowly freshmen on the Eagle team to get 'er done. Jacob Buck would step up with a single that scored Barnett and Josh Crow snuck one out to right field that scored both Gilmore and Lindholm. Eads didn't panic going into the top of the sixth trailing 4-3. They would produce four more runs, again coming from the meat of the order beginning with an RBI single by Barnett that scored Anthony Voss. Another walk by Gilmore and a two-run single by Lindholm and the bleeding was about to begin.

Gilmore would hold the Lions scoreless in the final two innings while Eads managed two insurance runs at their final bat with Barnett reaching on a fielder's choice and being hit in by Gilmore's long double. Lindholm, who ended up with four RBIs on the day, would then duplicate another double and Gilmore would score the ninth and final run for the Eagles.

With the win Eads enters a very tough Regional tournament where they will have to win two games to get to the state tournament in Pueblo. Eads faces the undefeated and #2 seeded Las Animas Trojans (20-0) in Las Animas at 10 a.m. on Saturday. If they win that game they will play the winner of Akron and Custer County at 3:00 p.m. for the right to play at the state tournament.