The Casper Spuds Win A Thriller To Force Game Three

All season long, the Casper Spuds have been gritty, sometimes in a heart-stopping way, but they've never given up. That same grittiness showed last night at Mike Lansing Field, just one loss away from elimination in the 2026 Independence League Baseball wildcard playoff series with the Oahe Zap.

The Zap jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 2nd, but the Spuds responded with 5 runs in the bottom half of the inning, giving them a little breathing room. In playoff baseball, down 0-1 in the series, you can't afford to let your guard down. Casper added an insurance run in the bottom of the third, giving them a 6-2 lead.

The Zap have shown some spunk and haven't wanted to let the series slip away, so they've kept grinding. It paid off for Oahe. They scored two runs in the top of the fifth, bringing the score to 6-4.

In the 6th inning, the Zap added another run, making it 6-5, and in the top of the 7th inning, back-to-back hits put runners on corners. The next batter hit a bloop single that dropped to the turf, scoring the tying run.

The score stayed the same, 6-6, until the bottom of the 9th with 1 out, when catcher Hunter Stonecipher ripped a single into center field to put the winning run on first.

A wild pitch to the next hitter, Andrew Witt, and Stonecipher headed off to second and into scoring position. Witt then hit a 2-2 pitch to the shortstop, Cy Taylor, who made a great play and threw him out at first. Stonecipher was moving on contact and rolled over to third, and the walk-off winning run was just 90 feet away.

For baseball players, you've imagined this scenario since playing in the backyard.

Two outs, bottom of the 9th, with the season on the line. It gives me chills just thinking about it. Imagine what Addison Patton was feeling as he walked to the plate, and that's the case.

Bottom of the 9th: the Spuds are down 0-1 in the series, and a loss means the season is over. The winning run is on third, with two outs.

Patton walks on 4 straight balls, and off to first he goes. Patton, who ended the night 3 for 3 with two walks.

Enter Cole Barta.

The situation is the same, except there are two runners on.

Bottom of the 9th: the Spuds are down 0-1 in the series, and a loss means the season is over. Runners are on the corners, with the winning run on third, with two outs.

First pitch to Barta goes over his head and to the screen. A wild pitch, and Stonecipher scores. The gritty Casper Spuds do it again and walk off the Oahe Zap 7-6, forcing a for-all-the-marbles Game 3.

WOW. That's the excitement you hope for in playoff baseball, well, of course, if you're a Spuds fan.

Game three, winner-take-all, of the ILB wildcard series will be tonight at Mike Lansing Field. Gates open at 5:30, with first pitch at 6:30.

You can watch the intense bottom of the 9th action from the Spuds' YouTube feed and get excited for game three.