'Big game Bobby' earns nickname, pitches Delphi past Carroll for sectional title

DELPHI − Brock Burton's nickname, for some reason, is Bobby, but more elaboratively, it's Big Game Bobby.

On Monday, Burton earned that moniker when Delphi needed its senior most.

Delivering a steady diet of curve balls, Burton pitched the Oracles out of danger and to a fourth-straight sectional title with a 2-0 win over rival Carroll.

"He always shows up," Delphi catcher Chase Long said. "These guys have kind of owned us in the past. I said, 'You can't be scared.' When the game stands tall, you've got to stand taller."

In the Class 2A, Sectional 38 championship game, Burton wasn't expecting to pitch, but with starter Chase Almager struggling with command and with the Oracles being able to ill afford squandering their early lead against Carroll ace Tanner Turnpaugh, coach Ryan Long summoned Burton in from right field.

Almager had walked the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the third when Long handed the ball to Burton.

Burton came through, giving up two hits over 4 ⅔ innings of relief.

"I was not expecting to pitch at all and then they put me in with the bases loaded," Burton said. "I wanted to just get out there and throw strikes and that was all I needed to do."

Burton coaxed consecutive fly balls to center to get out of the third-inning jam.

The Oracles already had done their part offensively against Turnpaugh, who allowed just one hit in an 11-0 win over Delphi two weeks earlier.

Burton reached on an error in the top of the first and scored on Carson Workinger's single. Chase Long singled in the third and later scored on an error.

Almager managed to avoid disaster despite walking six Cougars in 2 ⅓ innings.

But Ryan Long wasn't willing to gamble that Almager could continue doing so any longer after three straight free passes in the third.

"Brock's been throwing strikes all year and that's kind of been an Achilles heel was just walking too many guys, so we knew he'd give us a chance and, you know, we made plays defensively behind him and it was just a gutsy effort by him," Ryan Long said.

Other than the jam he inherited, Burton found himself in danger just once and it came in the most crucial moment.

Clayton Johnston drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh. Two batters later, Jake Skinner singled to center field bringing the winning run to the plate.

"I just took a deep breath and cooled down, listened to my friend Dakota (Titus) at third," Burton said. "I just had to take a deep breath and I was fine."

The next two Cougars hit ground balls to short and Almager flipped to Workinger at second base on both for a force out to end the game.

"It's been a four, or five-year run if you count COVID (the 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic) of good baseball and guys that believe in winning and we've just got a lot of guys here who expect to win when they take the field."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.