Walk-off winner: Virginia Canes win Geico Baseball City Series for first time thanks to Connor Rasmussen hit
GLENDALE, Wis. (BVM) — The championship game of the Geico Baseball City Series had pretty much all fans would have hoped for. A reigning champion in the Indiana Bulls, a hot new arrival in the Virginia Canes, strong pitching, great batting and most importantly a game-winning hit. The game-winner came courtesy of Canes’ shortstop Connor Rasmussen who roped a deep fly to right field on a 3-1 count with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. The ball went just beyond the outstretched glove of Bulls’ right fielder Keaton Mahan and dropped harmlessly to the warning track, giving the Canes a 5-4 win and their first Geico City Series championship in their first ever appearance in the tournament.
“I couldn’t see if he caught it or not at first,” Rasmussen said after the game. “I saw him going back, it looked like he was camped underneath it but I saw it go over his head and threw my arms in the air. It was awesome.”
WALK-OFF WINNER!
Connor Rasmussen (@C_Rasmussen13) hits it off the fence to give @TheCanesBB their first #GEICOCitySeries Championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gAmtpTWfnF
— NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) August 7, 2021
For the hero Rasmussen, he was in a difficult position. Either he would have to try to work a walk from Bulls’ pitcher Christian Pownall or get the perfect pitch to deliver a base hit. Fortunately for the shortstop, that pitch is just what he wanted.
“I saw it out of his hands and my eyes got big,” Rasmussen said after the game. “I knew right then I saw it and I said ‘just don’t miss it’ and I didn’t miss it.”
Canes head coach Anthony Burke couldn’t have been more happy with the outcome.
“That was a crazy game,” Burke said. “Our guys stayed with it and fought through it and you get that big two-out knock by Ras, that was huge and that was a great way to cap off this tournament.”
Burke was happy that for all the players to do it, it was Rasmussen who had a solid all-around weekend for the Canes.
“I was hoping we would finish it right there,” Burke said. “Ras puts a good swing on the ball, he swung the bat well all week, and he capped off his week with that right there, I thought that was great for him.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair right up to the last at bat. After neither team scored in the first inning, the Bulls would get on the board first in the top of the second with an RBI single courtesy of left fielder Brody Chrisman. In the bottom half of the inning, the Canes’ first baseman Zach Wadas scored off a passed ball to knot the game at one a piece.
In the top of the third, the Bulls would again score on a sac fly, despite a stellar catch by Canes’ second baseman Dixon Williams who tracked the ball all the way to the foul line and made a diving catch. Later in the inning, Canes’ starter Ethan Califf would be called for a balk, his second of the day, bringing a runner home from third and giving the Bulls a 3-1 lead.
Although the team had no hits against Bulls’ starter Zach Todd through the first two innings, it seemed that they would get a big one from extra hitter Christian Stratis, but an amazing catch by Chrisman at the wall robbed the Canes of a home run and their first hit of the day, keeping the score 3-1 going into the fourth.
With the Bulls again threatening with runners on second and third and only one out, the Canes went to the bullpen and Adam Vaughn who was able to strikeout the next Bulls batter and force a groundout to end the danger. In the bottom of the fourth, the Canes would tie up the game once again, this time thanks to a two-RBI double by right fielder George Wolkow.
After neither team scored in the fifth, Mother Nature made an appearance during the top of the sixth inning as the clouds opened up and it began to rain down. Though the rain wouldn’t last too long, its impact was felt for the duration of the game as pitchers lost their grip of the ball numerous times and players dealt with difficult footing.
With a runner on third in the top of the sixth, Vaughn was able to work his way out of the jam by striking out three straight Bulls batters and giving his team a chance. In the bottom half of the inning, the Canes would take the lead after Bulls pitcher Connor Foley got called for a balk not once, but twice, advancing the runners to second and third before balking the leading run home. Though the Canes wouldn’t add to their lead, they would hold a 4-3 advantage only needing three outs to win.
While Vaughn was able to get two of the final three outs, he wasn’t able to complete the win. With two outs and runners on first and second, a pop fly to left field by Chrisman would be just out of the reach of a diving Josiah Harrison to score the tying run. Needing to shut the door on any more scoring, the Canes turned to Bradley commit Brayden Marks who struck out the lone batter he faced.
Purdue commit Brody Chrisman displaying the late-game heroics. Game-tying hit with two-outs, two-strikes and @inbullsbase have LIFE! @BrodyChrisman pic.twitter.com/EAQVpfw3Eh
— NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) August 7, 2021
The Canes needed luck and skill to pull off the win in the bottom of the seventh and they got both. Designated hitter Michael Rodda worked a walk to start the inning and a Harrison single gave the Canes two on with no outs when the Bulls subbed in Pownall. The lefty would pick off Harrison, making the situation even more difficult for the Virginia team with a runner on second and one out. Substitute catcher Alex Nevills would work a walk before a pop out by third baseman Spencer Nolan, putting the Canes one out away from extras.
Stratis would get hit by a pitch during his next at-bat, setting the stage for Rasmussen. Though he hadn’t gotten a hit all afternoon, the East Carolina commit stayed true to his coaching and was able to work Pownall to a 3-1 count.
On the next pitch, Rassmussen got what he wanted, a fast ball over the middle, and delivered, bringing home the championship for the Canes.
“I was waiting for him to miss over the plate and he fell behind 3-1 and he just put a fastball middle in where I like it and I got the head out and put a good swing on it,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen’s friends and family watching the game from home on ESPNU were quick to reach out to the team hero.
“I actually just checked my phone and saw I had a bunch of texts and Snapchats and things like that,” Rasmussen said. “I know people back home are going crazy.”
During their first appearance in the tournament, the Canes were able to go a perfect 4-0 showing teams across the country what they are capable of, especially with the final game being televised to a national audience. The coach thinks that the tournament shows the country what he has already known.
“Personally, I think we’re the best travel organization in the country so it was nice for us to come up here and show what we could do on ESPN and stuff,” Burke said. “This was a great event, a lot of really good teams that are very competitive. I thought it was awesome for our guys. It was a great experience for the guys and to see them win in that fashion, that was pretty neat.”
A story in 4 parts: #TheCanes pic.twitter.com/UiTAWIHycz
— Canes Baseball (@TheCanesBB) August 7, 2021