An instant classic.

That’s one of several ways one could describe the Four Rivers Baseball Classic (FRBC) tournament game Friday afternoon between Owensville’s Dutchmen and St. Clair’s Bulldogs at Memorial Field.

Playing high school baseball for over 50 years on the upper portion of Memorial Park, both teams gave fans in attendance a game that may be talked about for another 50 years.

Finding themselves in a 12-0 hole after two innings, first-year head Dutchmen baseball coach Tyler Ahring must have said the right words to his team.

That is because they scored 13 of the next 14 runs in the game to tie at 13-13 after five innings.

Taking a 15-13 lead after six innings, St. Clair answered with two of their own to deadlock the game again at 15-15 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

A lead off walk to TC Fisher along with a pair of one-out walks by Alberto Del Pino Ortiz and Garret West loaded the bases for leadoff hitter Bryor Bogle.

Lacing a 2-2 pitch into the right-field grass, Fisher stepped on home plate setting off a celebration of Owensville’s 16-15 walk off victory over the visiting Bulldogs.

“That was an unbelievable way to open our season, Ahring said. “I’m so proud of my guys for not giving up after being down 12-0 in the second inning. I just kept telling them to chip away and good things would happen.”

Seeing Dutchmen senior starting pitcher Brady Smith rocked for 10 runs on four hits and six walks, reliever Justin Gauer came in and stopped any further damage by the visiting Bulldogs.

Beginning to climb out of their 12-0 hole in the bottom of the third inning, West and Bogle starting the frame with back-to-back singles.

Even though West was retired on a fielder’s choice, Smith singled to load the bases for Drew Baumbach.

Baumbach’s bases-loaded walk led to a five-run inning cutting the Bulldog lead to 12-5 heading to the fourth inning.

Behind the relief pitching of Javohntae Gates, Owensville kept St. Clair from adding to their lead at the midway point of the game.

Four walks and three bases hits led to five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning trimming St. Clair’s lead to 12-10.

Getting a run back in the top of the fifth, St. Clair took a 13-10 lead into the bottom half of the frame.

Abernathy doubled and scored on a Smith RBI single before Baumbach sent the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for a game-tying two-run home run.

Still tied at 13-13 in the bottom of the sixth, OHS took their first lead of the game when West doubled and scored on an Abernathy RBI sacrifice fly making it 14-13.

After a Smith RBI single scoring Bogle made it 15-13 after six innings.

St. Clair tied it in the top of the seventh before Owensville turned three walks and a single in the bottom of the seventh into a memorable final season opener at Memorial Field.