Capping off the regular season in dramatic fashion, the #8 moment on our countdown of the top 10 sports stories at Pella Christian over the last year comes from senior Tysen De Vries delivering a walk-off RBI single to give the Eagles baseball team a 1-0 senior night victory over Moravia on Friday, June 28th.

Helping fuel the late game dramatics between the Eagles and Mohawks, was dominant pitching and strong defensive play from both teams. Moravia’s best scoring opportunity came with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning, but a lineout to centerfield and strong throw home by Ethan Van Arendonk resulted in an inning-ending double play. Pella Christian put two runners on the bases in the first, third, and sixth innings, but couldn’t find holes in the Mohawks defense, leading to the late game scoreless tie. In the bottom of the seventh, Brecken Ritzert singled to left field with one out, then advanced to second on a fielding error by the left fielder. After Ritzert advanced to third on a ground out, Tysen De Vries came through with the game-winning single through the left side of the infield to record his second walk-off hit of the season. After their original senior night nearly didn’t happen due to a rainout, Eagles head coach Chris Fynaardt said it was great to give the seniors a memorable send-off in their final home game.

“It was just a fun night all the way around. Trae Van Mannen, I think it might have been his first start in right field or maybe his second, makes two diving catches out there. Isaiah, in his first at bat gets a single. I mean, every senior that played tonight had a part of this win. You know, Tysen hits the walk-off hit, so that’s why you want to play senior night. It gives them something to remember and they’re going to remember this for the rest of their life.”

Pella Christian finished the season with a 14-21 overall record and reached the Class 2A Substate Semifinals for the second straight season.