2016 NHSI: Houston Gets Walk-Off Win

CARY, N.C.—Houston High of Germantown, Tenn., was set up to win in the consolation round at the National High School Invitational on Friday. Runners on first and third, speedy junior Barrone Porter at the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

“A runner on third and less than two outs, we preach (go after the) first three pitches,” coach Lane McCarter said. “(Porter) got it on the nose, and it was bang-bang at first, and he was out. But if that throw is anywhere off the mark, we score the winning run that way. (The First Academy) executed right there.”

The Orlando school turned a sweet 4-6-3 double play to send the game to extra innings and swing the momentum. But Houston hung in, swung it back and emerged with a 6-5 win in eight innings on Jack Kenley’s single to the gap in left center.

Houston, after a 5-0 loss to Allatoona High (Acworth, Ga.) in the opener, has won its last two and feels good about its experience at NHSI.

“It feels great,” McCarter said about the past two games. “Anytime you come to this tournament, and after the first game, I told the team, “Now you’re not playing for the championship, you’re playing for pride. And we’ve been playing pretty good.”

After that double play in the seventh, however, McCarter wasn’t sure what to expect.

“That was huge. That’s a very, very good offensive team. Every time they came up, I kept wondering how are we going to get these guys out.”

But senior righthander Nick Blankenship and sophomore righty Corey Wilson did the job in relief of starter Cullen Ray, a senior committed to Arkansas State. The two combined to allow just one earned run in the final seven innings after a rough first inning that saw Houston fall behind 3-0.

Blankenship “kept us in the game. He’s a one-time-through-the-order guy, but he gave us a little more, and that’s big in this tournament.”

Thanks to its relievers, Houston was able to capitalize in the eighth and finally win it when Kenley’s hit found grass in left center.

“At the end of the game, we executed,” McCarter said. “A lot of times in high school baseball, it’s goats and not heroes, and today they made some plays and we got the big hit to win the game. That’s some great momentum going into tomorrow.”