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Team overcomes 9-run deficit before playoff loss

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The 2016 baseball season concluded for Ramona High School with 17-13 being both the Bulldogs’ final overall record and the score of Ramona’s playoff game at home against Patrick Henry.

Although the Patriots won the May 23 game with four runs in the top of the seventh inning, Ramona overcame a 9-0 deficit to tie the game at 13-13.

“It takes true grit and character to battle like that in that kind of environment in the playoffs against a great team. You’ve got to be happy with that,” said coach Dean Welch. “We showed what we were made of, so that was good to see.”

Ramona’s overall record included a 13-2 figure in Valley League play, and as the designated league champion the Bulldogs were guaranteed a home playoff game even though Patrick Henry was the higher-seeded team.

“It was a big crowd,” Welch said.

The Patriots scored eight times in the top of the first and added a run in the top of the second for a 9-0 lead.

“It’s so hard to come back from nine runs down,” Welch said.

Ramona base runners crossed the plate six times in the bottom of the second. Patrick Henry added two runs in the top of the third while Ramona scored once in the bottom of that inning. A three-run fourth inning for Ramona narrowed the Patriots’ lead to 11-10.

The Patriots increased their lead to 13-10 with two scores in the top of the fifth. During the bottom of the sixth inning, three Ramona runs created a 13-13 score.

“It was fun to watch,” Welch said of Ramona’s comeback. “It was great to be a part of that, and I think we represented Ramona real well.”

One more inning remained in regulation, and the Patriots utilized their lineup rotation in the top half.

“The last inning there were a couple of guys we really wanted to avoid and we couldn’t avoid them,” Welch said. “We had to pick our poison at the end.”

The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh.

“We ran out of time,” Welch said. “We had such an emotional roller coaster.”

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