Parker Picot crushed a walk-off grand slam in the 12th inning to cap off a thrilling 7-3 Leprechauns win over Battle Creek on Saturday night.
“It was wild, for sure,” Picot said. “Saw a pitch, reacted well to it.”
Picot’s round-tripper is his fourth of the summer and the first of the grand slam variety for any Leprechaun this year. The bases had been loaded by Battle Creek after pinch runner JR Bedford moved to third on a wild pitch after starting the inning on second and Ryan McKay and Saborn Campbell were intentionally walked.
It was an ironic end to what was a pitcher’s duel up to that point. Going into extras, the score was knotted at two, and had been that way since the fifth inning.
“I felt every single emotion possible during that game,” said Royal Oak head coach Jonathan Vance.
Despite the game going 12 innings, Royal Oak only needed to use two pitchers: JT Guerrero and Joe Turner.
“Our guys are really starting to play good baseball right now,” Vance said. “Our pitching staff is the big bright spot.”
Guerrero handed in seven innings after never going above two in any of his seven prior relief appearances. He allowed just two runs across (one unearned) and four hits, getting six strikeouts in the process.
“It feels good,” Guerrero said. “Team did a great job battling back today, picking me up and winning a great ballgame.”
Joe Turner received the final five frames after having never gone above 2.2 innings this year. The only Battle Creek run that came across was the automatically inherited runner on second to begin the 11th.
Importantly, Turner stranded an insurance run on third base with one out in that 11th frame after Battle Creek had taken the lead and forced a double play with the bases loaded in the 12th.
Vance said he was “definitely not” anticipating only using two pitchers throughout the game. He was only imagining Guerrero handing in four or five innings on the start.
“He’s got that dawg in him,” Vance said. “He wanted the ball and he was throwing well, so we kept him rolling.”
It was a similar situation with Turner. Vance says that he asked to continue into extras as well.
Overshadowed by Picot’s winner and two stellar performances on the mound was Alex Cheeseman and Michael Lareau.
Cheeseman delivered a sacrifice fly to keep the game going in the 11th to make up for his 0-for-4 start.
Lareau gave Royal Oak its only two runs in regulation during the first inning with a two-out, two-RBI double. That comes on the heels of a three-hit, four-RBI day in Battle Creek on Friday that included a two-run homer.
Saturday’s classic moves the Leprechauns to 22-18 on the year and 4-1 to begin the second half of the season.
Royal Oak’s playoff push continues with a two-game set against the Kalamazoo Growlers. Game one will be at home, before the team begins a five-day road trip in Kalamazoo the following day. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with the game to be televised on ESPN+.
