Rock Falls, Hippen eliminate Rocky baseball team

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| Saturday, May 24, 2008 5:22 PM CDT | () comments

Rock Island gets 1 hit off Iowa signee Hippen

By Nate Taylor

QUAD-CITY TIMES

Rock Island senior center fielder Steven Lee said he knew the Rocks’ Illinois Class 3A regional baseball championship game was going to be difficult.

Even though the Rocks were playing on their home field, the team had to wear their red visitor jerseys. That’s because Rock Island was playing the regional favorites — the Rock Falls Rockets.

To make matters worse, the Rocks had to face senior pitcher Jared Hippen, who has signed to play baseball for the University of Iowa next year.

Put all that together, and the odds weren’t in the Rocks’ favor as they lost 5-1 on Saturday.

But Lee was willing to challenge those factors.

With the Rockets up 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, junior Rock Island pitcher Thad Pool was in a tight jam.

The bases were loaded, and junior shortstop Jake Junis was at the plate. Junis had driven in the first run with an RBI double to right and was looking to clear the bases.

Junis lined Pool’s 2-2 pitch into deep left field. Lee raced across the outfield and was looking to make the momentum-changing play. Lee made a superman-like diving attempt but came up short.

“As I was watching it, I knew I had a chance,” Lee said. “When I dove, I thought I had it, but the wind just pushed it away from me. It was just a few inches.”

Those few inches seemingly decided Rock Island’s fate. All three runners scored to increase Rock Falls’ lead to four.

From that point, Rock Island couldn’t recover, and Rock Falls cruised to claim the regional title.

“They got a big hit, and we didn’t,” said Rock Island coach Andy Campbell. “It just didn’t work out for us today. Sometimes that’s baseball.”

Although Pool pitched the entire game and got out of a couple jams, the right-hander was hoping to see his teammate make a game-saving play that could have gotten him out of another.

“When I saw the play, I thought Lee had a chance, too,” Pool said. “I wished he could have caught it, but he gave a great effort.”

As for the Rocks’ offense, Hippen allowed one hit, with the Rocks scoring their run on an error.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Cambpell said. “He threw us off-speed pitches in just about any count today.”

Nate Taylor can be contacted at (563) 383-2477 or at ntaylor@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com