The Patagonia High School baseball team saved the best for last.
Literally.
Forced to finish Monday’s game with eight players after a freak injury knocked shortstop D.J. Castro out of the game, down two runs entering the bottom of the eighth inning of their season finale, searching for their first win since their season-opening game on Feb. 26, the Lobos rallied for three runs and a stunning 7-6 victory over visiting Fort Thomas.
For the Lobos, It was a jubilant bookend to the 2025 season. They finished with a 2-13 record—13 losses sandwiched between the season-opening win over San Miguel and Monday’s improbable season-ender.
Patagonia coach Ryan Shore said it was the strangest game he’s ever coached, but the strangeness made it that much sweeter.
“A lot of stuff going on,” Shore said. “I’ve never finished a game with eight people on the field and having to give up an out every time, but I’m just really proud of them for sticking with it.”
That the game even went into extra innings was a testament to the Lobos’ resilience.
Castro had to be removed from the game in the top of the seventh when a hard-hit ground ball took a bad hop and smacked him below his left eye. Because Shore had already substituted in his only reserve player, the Lobos were forced to finish the game with eight, employing only two outfielders. And Castro’s spot in the batting lineup became an automatic out. (More on the significance of this later.)
The score was 4-4 at the time of the injury, and Patagonia pitcher Johnny Fields managed to strand the go-ahead run on third base despite the short-handed defensive alignment. The Lobos went three up, three down in the bottom of the seventh—in part because of the automatic out—and so their season was extended into extra innings.
The top of the eighth started poorly for Patagonia. A pair of walks put two runners on with no outs—but then more strangeness. Fields got the next batter to hit a popup between the pitcher’s mound and first base, but Fields was unable to make the catch, leading to confusion on the base paths. Fort Thomas’s runners did not hear the umpire call an infield fly rule, and Noah Gallardo tagged out a runner at second base, leading to a double play. With two outs and a runner on third, it appeared Patagonia might escape the jam, but Seth Londeree slapped a hit into vacant right field to put Fort Thomas ahead. Londeree continued around the bases, and when the Lobos’ relay throw to third base skipped into the bullpen area, Londeree was awarded an extra base, making it 6-4 and leaving Patagonia three outs away from a 14th consecutive loss.
But not so fast. Lenin Albarron led off with a walk, stole second base, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single to center by Fields. Fields also stole second base and later moved up to third, but when the next two Lobos were retired, Patagonia was down to its final out. Gallardo quickly fell behind in the count but managed to work a walk, and after he stole second base, Fort Thomas intentionally walked Kannon Shore to bring up catcher Chris Lopez with the bases loaded. Castro’s spot was next in the order—meaning an automatic out would follow.
Lopez, whose hard smash down the first-base line brought home Patagonia’s first run in the second inning, hit a ground ball between second and third base that Fort Thomas was unable to field cleanly. Fields scored the tying run on the misplay, and Gallardo never hesitated in following him around third base, crossing the plate to ignite the Lobos’ long-awaited celebration.
“I told Noah he’s going no matter what,” Shore said.
The only damper on the celebration was that Castro was unable to be part of it.
“He’s been a leader for us all year,” Shore said. “The guys were really excited about getting the win for him.”
While Patagonia had aspirations greater than two wins—especially after winning the season opener—the victory total doubled last year’s figure and is the most for the Lobos since 2021.
“Not disappointed,” said Fields, who concluded his career with three hits and was the winning pitcher with five strikeouts in three innings. “It could have been better, but it’s a good group to win or lose with. I’m proud of this team.”
Likewise for Shore, who completed his first season as head coach.
“Doubling your win total when you only have two is no big deal, but it’s much nicer to end the season with a win,” he said.
“I’m super proud of the guys for sticking with it all year. We won the first game, and then we had a horrible stretch, and there were many times when they could have given up, but they kept grinding, kept trying to work on stuff. I wasn’t easy on them, but they didn’t take it the wrong way, they took it knowing that it comes from a place that I care about them, and they just did a great job of sticking with it.”
The Lobos will lose five seniors from this year’s roster of 11, meaning next season will be another challenge, but Shore is hoping that finishing on a positive note will be a building block.
“I’m definitely concerned about it,” Shore said. “I don’t want to break the momentum. I think we could build something here if we get buy-in from the kids.”