Perrysburg coach Dave Hall could only laugh when asked about Monday night’s baseball game at Anthony Wayne.
The final score. Luke Borer’s home run cycle. Nate Ball’s 6-for-6 performance.
“I’ve coached 41 years,” Hall said, “and I haven't seen a game quite like that.”
Perrysburg won 22-14 in a game that lasted nearly three hours. It featured one of the best stat lines in Ohio high school history, with Borer hitting a solo, two-run, three-run, and a grand slam. He finished with four runs scored and 10 RBIs — and the Yellow Jackets needed every last one of them.
No one has ever hit for a home run cycle in Major League Baseball, and it’s only happened once in the minors and college.
“I still can’t believe I even hit one. Those were the first four home runs of my high school career,’ said Borer, a junior shortstop/pitcher who’s batting .513 this season. “It’s pretty surreal.”
On the first pitch of the game, Borer hit a lazy would-be pop out that the first baseman missed. The second pitch was the start of his home run bonanza. He hit a solo homer in his first at-bat; a three-run homer in his second; flew out to the second baseman in his third at-bat; hit a two-run shot in his fourth at-bat; a grand slam in his fifth at-bat; and popped out with the bases loaded in his sixth and final trip to the plate.
On the pitch before the two-run homer, Anthony Wayne threw a wild pitch, allowing a Perrysburg base runner to score.
“Most baseball players know that those shots that go over the fence feel like nothing’s coming off the bat,” Borer said. “It feels effortless. All four definitely felt effortless. The wind definitely helped. But all four of those swings felt perfect.”
Borer’s four home runs are tied for the second-most in Ohio high school history, one shy of the single-game record, and his 10 RBIs rank 10th. A video of the home runs tweeted by WTOL’s Jordan Strack had more than 81,000 views as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“I’ve probably watched it 50 times,” Borer said.
The teams combined for 36 runs, 39 hits, and six home runs. Lost in all the home-run hoopla was Ball’s record-tying night. His six hits were the most ever in an Ohio high school baseball game.
Teammate Cam Githens hit a home run, and Daniel Kruger was 3-for-3 off the bench.
“It was like, Guys, great performances,” Hall said, “but no one is going to remember it.”
The final out of the game came on a diving catch with the bases loaded. Had it dropped, the score would have been 22-17 with an Anthony Wayne base runner on second.
“I think if you were just a pure fan and didn’t have a vested interest in it, it was probably a great game to watch,” Hall said. “For me, it was a little nerve-racking. I was sitting there going, ‘OK, we’re up 12, but it doesn’t feel safe.’ ”
First Published April 16, 2019, 11:18 p.m.
