SPRINGFIELD – Among the Effingham County High School baseball team’s many attributes is an iron chin.
The host Rebels took Brunswick’s best shot – a five-run fifth inning that gave the Pirates a temporary 8-6 lead – and responded with a seven-run sixth on Tuesday evening.
The 13-8 victory advanced Effingham County to the Region 1-5A championship game at 6 p.m. Thursday against visiting Greenbrier. Both teams are guaranteed home-field advantage for at least the first round of the GHSA playoffs next Wednesday (and Thursday, if necessary).
Rebels coach Eric McCombie said he wasn’t exactly disappointed that his team blew a 6-3 lead in the region semifinal because of what happened later in the game.
“Losing the lead, that’s a baseball thing. But how we lost the lead, that’s maybe a process thing that we need to correct,” McCombie said.
“We found a way through it,” he continued, “so actually I feel a little bit better about it because I know our guys, if they’re going to get punched in the face, we’re going to respond.”
ECHS (24-5, 11-1 region) answered with power, courtesy of senior Ryan Wells’ two-run triple over the center fielder’s head and junior Kaleb Pendley’s three-run homer in the seven-run rally.
PHOTO: Effingham County senior Ryan Wells locks in at the plate during the Rebels’ comeback win over Brunswick. Wells sparked the rally with a clutch two-run triple to center. - Birk Herrath Photography
“We were all just putting in each others’ heads to show some grit, and so we did,” Pendley said of the team’s mindset going into the sixth inning.
Wells said ECHS is comfortable playing from behind, so when the Pirates (17-10, 9-4) went up late in the game, the Rebels had them right where they wanted them.
“We say when we’re down, we’re really up,” Wells said. “If we get in the box and the game’s still going, we know we can win the game. That’s all we do – we see ball, hit ball.”
Aiden Garcia, who would bat around in the big inning, opened by reaching base when the shortstop’s throw drew the first baseman off the bag. Such mistakes had been costly for both squads in a game marred by a combined nine errors.
Newton Kieffer hit the first pitch to center, and Jacque’s King grounded into a fielder’s choice that led to a dropped toss on the attempted forceout at second base. Courtesy runner Nate King scored on the play.
PHOTO: Effingham County's Newton Kieffer keeps his eye on the ball during a key at-bat in the Rebels’ region semifinal win over Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
With Kieffer and Jacque’s King aboard, Wells brought them home on a blast to deep center for a triple, and ECHS retook the lead, 9-8.
PHOTO: Effingham County’s Jacque's King dives back safely to first base during the Rebels’ region semifinal win over Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
Wells, who scored the next run on Caleb Swindle’s sacrifice fly, said ECHS batters were patient early in the game, working the pitch count and “being smart at the plate.”
PHOTO: Effingham County’s Caleb Swindle rounds third base as head coach Eric McCombie looks on during the Rebels’ region semifinal win over Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
Late in the game, they were aggressive on the first two pitches as the opposing hurlers wanted to get ahead in the count.
“When you swing the bat, good things happen,” said Wells, who has three triples on the year.
Brunswick lefty Braxton Johnson replaced reliever Trenton Robinson and walked Karson Thompson and, with two outs, Will Floyd. That brought up Pendley, who had gotten McCombie’s attention during batting practice earlier Tuesday.
“I’ve seen him in BP hit a couple today out onto the track (beyond the outfield fence),” recalled McCombie, noting that the left-handed Pendley regularly crushes pitches at batting practice. “He hit one – I was throwing BP – I just stopped and watched it. It just kept going. I know he hasn’t done it in a game a whole lot.”
Not a lot, no, as it was Pendley’s first homer of the season. Tuesday’s blast was memorable because of the timing and all that was riding on the game. He can’t say the same of his other career dinger, which came in a 24-5 rout of host Liberty County on March 1, 2025.
PHOTO: Effingham County’s Kaleb Pendley rounds third after crushing a clutch three-run homer in the sixth inning vs. Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
“It was not this electric,” Pendley said of his sophomore-year homer. “I will remember it because it was my first high school home run.”
Team identity
The turnaround to a five-run cushion three outs from victory “takes pressure off of everybody,” said Pendley, who is batting .416.
McCombie agreed the cushion was big after the game’s lead changes, and he said the power display – including Floyd’s RBI triple in the first inning – was not surprising in the least.
“We’ve seen it all year. It’s kind of our identity, that’s kind of who we are,” McCombie said. “I’m sure there are situations where people were screaming, ‘Why aren’t we bunting in this situation?’ But that’s not who we are.”
The offense motors on extra-base hits. McCombie believes in his players’ capabilities, and they believe in themselves and each other, he said.
“It’s a scary bunch when you have that,” McCombie said. “We’re trying to put 10 (runs) up every inning. That’s kind of our goal; that’s who we are. I think it’s a fun brand of baseball for these guys. They buy into that.”
Team unity includes most of the players bleaching their hair blond for the playoff run. McCombie promised if the Rebels captured the region title, he would dye his beard on Friday morning.
But first, they had to win on Tuesday. Effingham County had trailed 1-0 after the top of the first but put up two runs in each of the first, second, and fourth innings. The Rebels also left the bases loaded in the scoreless third and in the fourth.
Brunswick, who tallied two runs in the top of the fourth, plated five in the fifth. The Pirates took advantage of walks to the first two batters, followed by an RBI single and a two-out, two-run double, which tied the game at 6. Another walk and another RBI single ended ECHS starter Kyle Thomas’ atypical night on the mound.
The junior right-hander entered the game with a 6-0 record, 1.72 ERA, 24 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings.
PHOTO: Effingham County starting pitcher Kyle Thomas winds up on the mound during the Rebels’ region semifinal matchup against Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
Left-hander Travis LaFontaine allowed an infield single for the Pirates’ eighth run before coaxing a groundout to strand two baserunners.
After the Rebels went down 1-2-3 in the fifth, LaFontaine returned the favor with two groundouts and a strikeout in the top of the sixth.
The Pirates, in the final stanza, had two runners on base with two down after an error, a strikeout, a fielder’s choice, and a single. LaFontaine came out, and right-hander Ryan Douberly needed all of one pitch to coax a flyout to center to end the game.
PHOTO: Effingham County’s Adam Acel lays out to make a diving stop during the Rebels’ region semifinal win over Brunswick. - Birk Herrath Photography
| ECHS 13, BRUNSWICK 8 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| BRUNSWICK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| ECHS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | X | 13 | 14 | 5 |
|
Records—Brunswick 17-10, 9-4 Region 1-5A; Effingham County 24-5, 11-1. |
||||||||||
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Birk Herrath Photogrpahy
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