The Recorder on June 05, 2025
Zach Armstrong works on the hill for the Rams.
COVINGTON — Three days of rain.
A home game that had to be moved just seven hours before first pitch.
And extra innings.
It took all of it combined to end the best season of baseball at Highland High School in 25 years.
Brayden Manning shut down the Rams over the last four innings and Giles scored three times in the top of the eighth, winning an 8-5 decision in the quarterfinals of the Class 1, Region C baseball tournament at Casey Field Saturday evening.
Nathan Dudding delivered an RBI single from the nine-hole to give the Spartans the lead in the eighth and Josiah Schlueter added a two-run bloop hit to right.
Evan Kimble kept Highland’s season alive with a two-out single in the bottom of the inning, but was left stranded.
The game, originally scheduled for last Wednesday, was moved to Friday and again postponed to Saturday because of rain. It was then moved Saturday morning from Monterey to Covington because of the wet field conditions at HHS.
Eli Moore gets tagged out attempting to steal third. (Recorder photos by Gavin Dressler)
“We would have loved to have played in Highland,” said Ram coach Cole Armstrong, whose team had earned the right to host with a Pioneer District tournament runnerup finish. “A lot of the community couldn’t come. That was disappointing because the field wasn’t ready. If we just had one more day we could have played in Highland and who knows.
“It was a great ball game, back and forth,” he added. “Give credit to this Giles team. They are a good ball club.”
It was the Rams who struck first.
Patton Hull sent the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the first to the fence in left for a stand-up double, Zach Armstrong walked and Evan Kimble reached by an error, scoring two runs.
After Eli Moore’s pop-up was misplayed into an infield single, Elijah Good ripped a clutch two-out, two-run single to left.
Giles plated a run in the second and three in the third to draw even, before Highland reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third.
John Wagner prevents the Giles base hit.
John Wagner rifled a double to the gap in left-center, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Moore sacrifice fly.
An RBI single from Jacob Mills tied the game at 5-all in the top of the fourth, ending the scoring until the eighth.
Manning, a lefty who came to the mound from left field with two outs in the fourth, shut down Highland over the final five innings.
Manning allowed just one hit and two base runners, striking out five.
“We just seemed like we couldn’t get on that lefty when he came in,” Armstrong said. ‘We struggled against him.”
Wagner started on the hill for the Rams, striking out nine in five innings, before giving way to Armstrong, who took the loss.
Good led the Highland offense with two hits and two RBI, while Hull, Wagner, Kimble and Moore all had one hit each.
Schlueter had three hits and two RBI for Giles, Colton Moye had two hits and drove in two and Mills also had two hits.
The Spartans (8-14-1) advanced to Monday’s semifinals with the win. They lost to Auburn, 10-0, in five innings.
Saturday’s loss ended a 10-7 season for the Rams.
Highland was the runner-up in the Pioneer District regular season and tournament and was making its second regional appearance in the last three years.
The Rams ended the regular season with seven straight wins.
“We don’t want it to end like this,” said Armstrong, in his second year as the HHS head coach. “But I feel like we grew a lot this year from last year. I’m really proud of them. I give it up to my guys, they fought to the end.”
Saturday’s Linescore
Giles 013 100 03 – 8 11 4
Highland 401 000 00 – 5 6 1
WP: Brayden Manning; LP: Zach Armstrong (1-3)