Graysan Peneston knew it was a matter of when - not if - he would be called upon.
The scenario - with two runners on, nobody out and the game tied - didn't faze the South Callaway Bulldogs sophomore.
"I was really pumped to get into the game," Peneston said. "It was a big situation and I wanted to be in that situation."
Despite sitting the first five innings, Peneston tossed a near-perfect two innings of relief and drove in the decisive run in directing second-seeded South Callaway to a 4-2 triumph over the No. 4 Hermann Bearcats in the Class 3, District 8 championship Thursday night.
"(Peneston's) baseball IQ is high, he's been in those situations before," Bulldogs head coach Heath Lepper said. "You have to like a kid who wants to be in that situation and we have several of them."
South Callaway (19-7) will play at either the Bowling Green Bobcats or the Palmyra Panthers on Monday in a Class 3 sectional on Monday.
The Bobcats and Panthers lock up for the District 7 title at noon today in Bowling Green.
The District 8 championship was moved to South Callaway due to wet playing conditions at Hallsville, the tournament's host site.
Trailing 2-0, the Bulldogs found themselves down to their final strike in the bottom of the fifth after a promising start to the inning. Hermann sophomore starter Andrew Budnik hit South Callaway junior right fielder Dillon Stone with a pitch to open the frame.
Stone - just the second baserunner for the Bulldogs to that point - reached third on back-to-back passed balls, while junior designated hitter Ryan Edler was ahead of Budnik in the count 2-0.
Stone and Lepper somehow got their signals crossed, resulting in Stone attempting to steal home. Bearcats junior catcher Dakota Eikermann positioned himself perfectly between Stone and the plate, tagging him for the inning's first out.
Edler coaxed a walk one pitch later.
"It was a little confusion between our runner and myself," Lepper said. "It was a missed sign and something we'll have to address this weekend."
Edler then ended up at third on senior second baseman Trevor Miller's double to left. It was the only extra-base connection for the Bulldogs, who were out-hit 7-5 overall.
After senior first baseman Caleb Sconce popped out to first for the second out, South Callaway cashed in on Hermann's ill-timed misfortune.
Bulldogs junior catcher Cameron Richardson's grounder to short looked as if it would end the inning, but Bearcats junior first baseman Conner Lane was unable to scoop sophomore shortstop Matthew Wade's low throw. The ball squirted past Lane, allowing both Edler and Miller to scamper home and tie the game.
"We've talked about that all season, doing the little things," Lepper said. "... If he's (Richardson) loafing down the line, that first baseman has time to regroup; he hustled down the line and we had two runners score on the play."
Senior left fielder Mason Shoemaker drew a walk, with Richardson moving to second, but senior center fielder Cory Hanger struck out to quell the rally.
South Callaway senior starter Terry Miles - fresh off his first 1-2-3 outing in the top of the fifth - gave up a leadoff single to senior second baseman Andrew Loehnig and then walked Budnik to start Hermann's sixth.
Miles worked five innings, allowed two runs - one earned - on seven hits, while striking out one and walking two. The Bearcats logged their runs in the first and third.
Peneston - already warmed up - got the nod from Lepper and needed just three pitches to halt Hermann's rally.
On his first throw, Peneston got sophomore left fielder Dakota Hackmann to pop a bunt attempt back to Richardson for the first out. Two pitches later, Peneston snagged a grounder off the bat of senior left fielder Dalton Gillig to kick off an inning-ending double play.
"I knew I had a guy at first and second, and I heard somebody yell, "Two!' so I just turned around and threw it, and I just knew (the double play) was going to happen," Peneston said. "My emotions got really high there and I was really happy."
Senior shortstop Dax Helsel and senior third baseman Tyler Adams both legged out infield singles to lead off the bottom of the inning for the Bulldogs. Stone moved each runner up with a groundout to third for the first out, bringing up Peneston, who admitted that he didn't expect to see an at-bat.
He got just enough of Budnik's 2-2 offering, hitting a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Helsel for the run that put South Callaway in front to stay.
"I didn't expect to hit, but I knew when my name got called, I was going to have to hit," Peneston said. "... I got a good hit to drive and I got the job done."
Lepper considered pinch-hitting for Sconce - already 0-for-2 - with two outs in the seventh. He kept the bat in Sconce's hands and was rewarded with an RBI single to stretch the margin to two runs.
"Caleb said to me that he wanted to hit and he was going to get a hit," Lepper said. "I trust my kids. ... That's big in that situation to get one more run as cushion."
Peneston hit junior third baseman Joshua Schroer with a one-out pitch in the seventh, but responded with back-to-back strikeouts of Lane and Eikermann to clinch the championship.
"It felt great," Peneston said of securing the win. "I'd never have it any other way."
Miller was 1-for-2, while Sconce, Adams, Helsel andHanger were each 1-for-3 for South Callaway.
"It's a great win, a great win for the team and a great win for the school," Lepper said. "When you go ahead and bring a district title home, it lets those guys enjoy that hard work that much more."
New Bloomfield - the host and No. 3 seed in Class 2, District 8 - had its title game Thursday night against the top-seeded, state-ranked Linn Wildcats moved to South Callaway due to wet playing conditions. Results were not available at press time.