HUSTISFORD – In every good battle, both sides get their hits in before one finally takes one down for good when the time is right.

Leading 8-2 in the third inning, the Deerfield baseball team saw it’s lead vanish in the bottom of the seventh against Husisford/Dodgeland before plating four runs in the top of the eighth inning to earn the 14-10 Trailways-South Conference title for itself.

“You don’t want to share, especially when you control your own destiny after we lost to Rio (on Monday),” Deerfield coach Tom Davey said. “Nothing that happened in this game surprised, including them coming back.”

After a Deerfield (11-1, 17-3) loss to Rio Monday, gave Hustisford/Dodgeland (9-3, 12-6) a chance to earn a share of the conference title with a win.

After the 8-2 lead in the third, the Demons took a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh. That’s when things got a little hairy for Deerfield

Senior hurler Mike Hommen got Derek Pieper to swing at Strike 3 in the dirt, but he reached on the wild pitch and the out could not be secured.

“Those were just bad luck,” Hommen said. “I wouldn’t say they were bad pitches, but it was hard for the catcher to get to them. There’s not much you can do.”

It was just the beginning as the same thing would happen two more times in the inning. The inning saw Hommen actually strike out four batters, but only one counted as one of the three outs.

Throw a hit batter in there and an error and Hustisford/Dodgeland scored three runs on one hit – a two run single by Austin Neu that tied the game.

“This team has been in that situation before so we know we can come back,” Hustisford/Dodgeland coach Rich Padron said of the rally. “This team never says die. That’s one thing about them. They always give an effort. They know they aren’t going to get cut short with me and they’re not going to cut me short on that front.”

The mood in the Deerfield dugout was somber to say the least after the inning finally ended. But once the top of the eighth inning rolled around and Cody Eilenfeldt led off the inning with a single, the bad inning was behind the Demons.

“No one was getting down at all in the dugout,” Hommen said. “We knew we could hit (Neu). Everybody stayed up beat and stayed in the game.”

With their confidence back, the Demons put together a rally of their own, capped by Tyler Brown’s two-run single to make it a 14-10 game.

Davey then let Hommen go back out for the bottom of the eighth—doing so only because Deerfield won’t open the playoffs until June 2, an 11-day rest – and he came through, allowing just a one-out single to Ben Frederick that didn’t hurt him.

“Once you get there, you just let the rest of them roll off,” Hommen said. “Hopefully they hit them to where your guys are.”

Notes: Mark Wolfram saved three likely runs with what Davey said “might be the greatest high school catch I have ever seen” in the second inning, diving on the warning track to rob a hit from Wes Halverson. … The top five batters in the Deerfield order had two hits, wich Eileneld leading the way with three. … Neu, Hustisford/Dodgeland’s leadoff hitter led everyone by going 4 for 5 with three RBI, two doubles and two runs scored. … The Demons turned two double plays in the game, the second, of the 6-4-3 variety, came in the sixth to end a bases-loaded threat. … Wesley Jahnke blasted his third home run of the season in the first inning.

DEERFIELD……………………………….113 310 14—14 14 5

HUSTISFORD/DODGELAND…….200 131 3 0—14 11 4

Pitching: DFD—Mike Hommen (W, 10-1) 8 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, HB, 11 H, 10 R, 5 ER; HD—Derek Pieper 3 + IP, K, 3 BB, 8 H, 8 R, 6 ER; Austin Neu (L, 1-4) 5 IP, 3 K, 3 BB, 2 HB, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER.

Leading hitters: DFD—Cody Eilenfeldt 3-5, 2 RBI, 2B; Mike Homen 2-4 RBI, R; Tyler Brown 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 R; Wes Halverson 2-5, 2 RBI, R; Ryan Schenkel 2-5, 2 RBI, R, 2B. HD—Austin Neu 4-5, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B; Wes Jahnke 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R; Brad Bade 2-4, RBI, R; Ben Frederick 2-5, RBI, R, 2 2B.