While coaches will joke that close games make them want to pull out their hair, Williams baseball coach Robert Tamayo took that adage to an all new level.
After the Yellowjackets on April 12 walked off 12-11 for a win over Biggs, Tamayo let his team shave his head.
It was a deal Tamayo made with his squad before the season started: They win, he will get the haircut.
Since making that agreement, Tamayo’s been carrying the clippers in the team bag and after the 13 game of the season, he needed them.
The victory over the visiting Wolverines marked the ‘Jackets first win since 2016, and was cause for celebration, although it did not come easy by any means.
Taking more than three hours, Williams twice had to come back from deficits, then rely on some late inning heroics to gain the Mid-Valley League win.
Down 5-0 after two and a half innings, the Yellowjackets erupted for seven runs in the home half of the third to take a two-run lead, only to see Biggs jump back ahead in the top of the fourth, having put four more runs on the board.
While Williams proved resilient, scoring four runs to match the Wolverines and regain the lead 11-9, Biggs wasn’t done yet, as they rallied to tie in the seventh.
Yet the ‘Jackets had one last opportunity and would make the most of it, starting with Cristian Villa, who led off the final frame with a single.
After an unproductive out, Erik Vega stepped to the plate and, on a 1-0 count, ripped a walk-off double to plate Villa and unleash the jubilation.
For Tamayo, it was an extremely gratifying moment as he explained, “It was an amazing day for us all. I am proud of how each and every player played their heart out and never gave up. They all came through, big time.”
Even though it was a complete team win, Tamayo had specific praise for Vega, who not only delivered the game winner, but also was 3 for 3 on the day.
“I am especially proud of Erik,” Tamayo said. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more deserving guy.”
Villa went 2 for 5 with two runs scored, while Julio Angel, Juan Bermudez, and Alexis Velazquez all recorded hits in the win.
Williams (1-12, 1-4) had hoped to build upon its success in the series finale on April 14 in Biggs, but the game was canceled due to weather.
Off this week for Spring Break, the Yellowjackets will return to action on April 26 in Hamilton City. ■