ROCHELLE — In the history of Rochelle Township High School boys’ baseball, 2017 may not go down as one of the Hubs’ more memorable seasons. How they lost to Sterling, 8-7, in the semi-finals of the Rochelle Regional Thursday night to end that season certainly will.

In a wild game from start to finish, the Hubs were leading the Golden Warriors going into the final inning, 7-6. Even though the game was played at Creason Athletic Field, Sterling was actually listed as the home team, meaning they batted last.

Sophomore catcher Camden Bailey led off the frame with a sharp single off Rochelle senior Caleb Gould, who had come into the game in relief of starter Kyle Seebach in the fifth.

Trying to sacrifice his teammate to second, Christopher Brouilette bunted back to Gould who turned and threw the ball into center field, allowing him to reach. After Gould fanned the next batter for the first out, Sterling’s Dylan Bryant walked to load the bases. That brought up Cooper Wilman who lifted a little bloop fly to short left which RTHS junior Noah Mershon scooped up on one hop.

With Bailey breaking for the plate late, Mershon fired a perfect strike to Hub catcher Brendan Danekas, clearly beating the runner.

To the surprise of everyone on the Hubs’ side of the field, Bailey was called safe, the ruling being that Danekas wasn’t standing on the plate when the throw came in.

“He was right there,” RTHS head coach Jarrod Reynolds said of the home plate umpire. “I was over here (in the third base dugout). I have to trust him. It is what it is.”

“I thought he was out,” said Rochelle’s senior first baseman Christian Burciaga, whose first inning double gave Rochelle a 1-0 lead. “But you can’t do anything about it.”

Sterling then loaded the bases before senior Elias Edmondson slammed a fast ball over the right field fence to end the game – but not without more controversy. As Edmondson shot around first base, running out his second homer in as many innings, he passed a teammate who had been on first, immediately causing him to be called out.

So, Sterling's walk-off grand slam was ruled a single instead and only one run was allowed, but it was enough to give the Golden Warriors the win either way.

“It was pretty crazy,” RTHS senior Sam Christensen said. “Not a normal game.”

Reynolds said the play at the plate and the home run isn’t what cost the Hubs the game. “You just can’t give a good team that many extra outs and free bases,” he said.

In all, Rochelle pitchers gave up nine walks and a hit batter while the defense committed four errors, including two to lead off the third that resulted in Sterling’s first two runs of the game. In fact, nine Sterling batters reached base before they recorded their first hit, a double in the fifth.

“You have to give them credit,” Reynolds said. “They fought back the whole game.”

“They’re a great team,” Burciaga added.

After the Hubs built up a 2-0 lead, Sterling scored three times in the third to take a brief one-run lead. Undaunted, Rochelle then scored four times in the fourth to regain the lead at 6-3. Christensen and Matt Albers reached on errors before Danekas singled in one run. He and Johnny Beck also scored.

The Hubs added their final run of the game – and the season – in the sixth when Gould singled, advanced on an error and Beck drove him in.

For the game, the Hubs had seven hits while drawing six walks. They also took advantage of five Sterling errors, including Burciaga’s fly to left that drove in a pair of runs that their left fielder apparently lost in the sun.

Offensively Gould had two hits and scored twice for Rochelle. Beck reached three times, on two walks and a run-scoring single. Burciaga also reached three times, on a double, a walk and an error, as did Mershon with two walks and a single. Albers and Danekas were on base twice, Danekas on a pair of singles and Albers on an error and a walk.

“It’s tough to take,” Reynolds said of the loss. “You just feel for the kids.”

Many of whom had to be consoled after the game, including Burciaga, who sat on a stool in the dugout, his head down while most of his teammates mingled with their parents and friends.

The loss ended the Hubs’ season at 12-13-1, knocking them out of the regionals and officially ending their season. With the win, Sterling (21-10) advanced to the regional championship on Saturday against Stillman Valley which had upset top-seeded Rockford Christian, 1-0, earlier in the week.

Despite losing to the Warriors for the fourth time this season, Christensen said everyone thought the Hubs could beat them. “We knew we had a chance,” he said, pointing out that all the scores of the previous games had been so close: 2-1, 4-2 and 6-0.

Unfortunately, as one player said, sometimes things just don’t work out.