Video: Crazy hidden ball trick by Luis Ortiz Jr.
See how Rye (Colo.) won a playoff game in crazy fashionThere was thunder, lighting, rain and a 70-minute game delay. There was a change of venue and eventually 19 runs, 26 hits, four errors, a four-run rally and a six-run rally.
But what most people, if not all, will recall most about the
Rye (Colo.) 9-8 2A state semifinal victory over Hotchkiss was the finish — the masterful hidden ball trick to seal it.
With two outs, a runner at second and the tying run at the plate, Rye pitcher
Luis Ortiz, Jr. whirled to supposedly throw to second base. The Rye infielders jumped and looked toward the outfield, as if the pickoff throw was errant.
It was all an act. A virtuoso.
See the complete Colorado state 2A baseball bracketColton Deluzio, the pinch runner at second, went for it and sprinted for third base. Ortiz ran off the mound and tagged him for the final out, setting off a wild celebration.
It set up for an even wilder dogpile later that day when Rye completed a 25-0 season with a comeback 12-10 win over defending champion Resurrection Christian to claim its first title since 2011. Rye had dropped state semifinal games three consecutive years before that.
That's what made the hidden ball game even more meaningful.
"We weren't sure if it was going to work," Rye coach Stacey Graham told
chsaanow.com. "We practice it quite a bit and we ran it one time successfully, and it worked again. It's a tough play to do and the guys executed it real well."
Hotchkiss coach Blake Carlquist was classy and philosophical in defeat: "It was executed on their end. … You never want a game to end like that, but sometimes that's the way it goes."
