Top 20 Games in the Last 8 Years - #17

#17 - Oxford @ Neshoba Central (Game 2) 
Baseball 2011 - "120-pitch Double Play"

So here we are in Philly, the bases are loaded, 1 out, home team down by 3 runs in the bottom of the last inning, the pitcher is two outs away from a complete game and advancing to play for the Pennant.

Okay, okay, it is not the Phillies/Cardinals of the 2011 NLDS but the game was played in Philadelphia, MS and Oxford was not playing for a chance at the Pennant, but were 2 outs away from going to the North Half Title Series.

Zac Barber was on the mound. He had already thrown a whopping 119 pitches in the game. Oxford has played error-free baseball to this point and played a clean series after a very solid pitching performance in Game 1 from Hunt Halford to give Oxford the 1-0 series lead heading into this game. 

Coach Chris Baughman came for his second visit of the game to check and make sure he was alright. Oxford to that point had not gone into the bullpen the entire playoffs and did not really want to put a cold pitcher in a bad situation where one mistake could cost the game - and maybe the series. He returned to the dugout after being told by Zac that he was fine and can finish this.

The home plate Umpire was really bad with his strike zone, he earlier called a strike on Guy Billups that bounced in the dirt prior to reaching the plate - and no he did not swing. He should not be doing a game of this magnitude where a lot is on the line for both of these teams. The fact that his strike zone seemed to move a yard with every pitch in that game is what probably drew a bad swing from Barber's next batter after that meeting.

On a 1-1 count, the Neshoba Central batter grounded one straight to James Lear playing at Shortstop, flipped it to Dustin Williams playing at and tagging Second Base for the second out and threw a dart to First Baseman Avery Norris in which the throw barely beat the runner to get the final out and win the series to advance to play Ridgeland for the North Half Title.

The 6-4-3 Double Play to end the game showed an amount of defensive presence that this Baseball Team had the entire series and made plays that just blew your mind. The series against Hernando that year and then Neshoba Central are probably the two best defensive series Oxford Baseball has played since OHS won State back in 2005. All good things must come to an end though, as Oxford committed error after error in the Ridgeland series that saw their title dreams crash losing that series 2-1.

This game and really the entire season was one to remember, one where a bunch of misfits proved a bunch of people wrong and it was Coach Baughman's first season as the Head Coach of this team. Plenty of games to choose from in that season, but this series-ending Double Play just stuck out and made this list at #17. 

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