PREP BASEBALL: Fernald's walk-off grand slam caps off Columbia's rally over Lincoln in Region 1-5A semis

The home plate umpire sent Columbia coach Chris Howard to the locker room early.

So, Howard pulled up a seat and propped his legs up to watch the show from above the dugout, hoping his ejection in the fourth inning would light a fire under his team. It took a while, but Josh Fernald gave him an ending you only dream about in the backyard as a kid, and it now has the Tigers one game away from a return trip to Fort Myers.

Fernald hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs to straight away center field to propel No. 2 seed Columbia to a come-from-behind 8-4 win against No. 3 seed Lincoln at home Saturday afternoon in the Region 1-5A semifinals. The Tigers trailed 4-0 and didn’t even record their first hit until the fifth inning, but they rallied back to score six runs in the final frame to advance to the regional finals.

Columbia will travel to top-seeded Clay on Tuesday for a berth in the Final Four.

“I don’t know what to think right now, I’m in shock still,” Fernald said. “You dream about this when you’re playing in your room, playing in your backyard playing wiffle ball. Two outs and game-winning run on third and you hit a home run, I mean, you can’t write it up any better. It’s pretty crazy.”

HOLY COW. Fernald hits a walk-off grand slam. TIGERS ADVANCE. They’ll travel to Clay on Tuesday for the Region 1-5A championship.

Final: Columbia 8, Lincoln 4 pic.twitter.com/ZSd16OZizl

— Jordan Kroeger (@ByJordanKroeger) May 13, 2023

It’s the second straight season the Tigers (23-5) have eliminated the Trojans (17-10) from the playoffs. Columbia beat Lincoln 7-6 in last year’s regional final with a three-run seventh inning in another walk-off win, and then won a rematch 9-0 in the District 2-5A championship on May 3.

That, though, was after the Tigers had blown the lead. The 2023 playoff rematch was a steeper hill to climb after an error by Branson Mann at second base with two outs in the first inning allowed one run to score before Austen Sarvis and Carson Kelly hit back-to-back RBI singles.

The Trojans got another run off starting pitcher Grant Bowers in the second inning via a sac fly by Lucas Canady, and the Tigers trailed 4-0 until scoring two runs in the fifth inning that came courtesy of a 2-RBI double off Bowers’ bat.

“It was kind of almost just like last year. It really was,” Howard said. “We knew it was going to be a fight. It didn’t go how we wanted it to in the first inning, but that’s why you play until the end.”

Howard was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire, who appeared to be widely inconsistent with his strike zone. Fernald watched a pitch go low and away for what looked like a ball, but when it was called a strike, Howard had enough.

Although he was frustrated, Howard admitted he partly made the move to try and wake his team up.

"I just felt like he wasn't being consistent," Howard said. "That, and I kind of wanted to get the kids fired up. I don't mind taking one for the team if I have to.

“I actually propped my legs up in the corner (of the locker room) and prayed.”

The leadup to Fernald’s homer was full of drama. Carston Palmer beat out a ground ball for an infield single to lead off Columbia’s half of the seventh, and Bowers then made it to second base with one out while Palmer advanced to third when Lincoln shortstop Garrett Harper bounced a throw that hopped over the shoulder of Canady at first base.

Mann, the nine-hole hitter, then singled to left field to score Palmer. Bowers turned around third base to try to score the tying run, but assistant coach Joey Edge held him up. As Bowers tried to turn back, his foot came out of his shoe and he was tagged for the second out, leaving just Mann at first.

But as the lineup turned back to the top of the order, the Tigers were far from finished. Matt Dumas singled to put two runners on, which prompted Lincoln to pull Kelly after he pitched the entire game to that point.

In came Harper for relief, but he walked Hayden Gustavson to load the bases. Ayden Phillips then drew a full-count walk to bring in the tying run, and Fernald stepped to the plate for the at-bat of his life.

“It could’ve been a lot of guys’ last high school game or last game ever,” Fernald said. “Emotions kick in and the team just intensifies. It’s not being selfish and thinking about others and knowing the situation. We stayed in the game. We never were out of it. I never felt like we were out of it. We didn’t panic early in the game. We just played Tiger baseball.”

Kelly took the loss after throwing 6 2/3 innings where he allowed five earned runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. The sidearm lefty outdueled Bowers, who only lasted two innings where just one of the four runs were earned against him on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Howard turned to Gustavson, who kept Lincoln off the scoreboard the rest of the game. Gustavson only allowed three hits and fanned seven over the final five innings after he told his team “they weren’t scoring another run.”

“We refuse to lose,” Gustavson said. “Even when we were down and they were chirping because everybody talks when they’re up, I had the same energy because I knew we were good. This team refuses to lose, especially the last game on this field. I wasn’t going out on this field a loser. There was no way, and my teammates had my back and they knew that, everybody knew we weren’t going to lose.” 

It's become clear the Tigers thrive off nerves and drama, even if it is taking a toll on Howard just a bit.

“I’m getting too old for it to be honest with you,” Howard joked. “It wouldn’t be any fun if it wasn’t like this would it? It’s kind of a boring sport if you think about it. But that puts the fun in it. These kids deserve this. And hopefully we can go to Clay Tuesday and get the job done.”