May 18, 2006.

Dan Ivey says little. He does his job, rarely rah-rahing with his teammates. In the field, he shows little emotion.

But even Tuesday night’s Porters Chapel finale nearly brought the senior to tears. He pitched one inning, allowed six runs and saw a victory over Jackson Academy fall through the Eagles’ claws.

Yet he didn’t make excuses. He didn’t shy away from a reporter’s questions. He blamed himself.

He took the entire defeat and put it on his shoulders.

And he shouldn’t have.

The Eagles did more to themselves in the seventh inning than Ivey could have ever dreamed of doing.

To set the stage: Porters Chapel led JA 7-2 heading into the last inning. Starting pitcher Michael Busby had been phenomenal, allowing only a two-run home run in the first inning.

In the seventh, JA pieced together a couple hits, took advantage of a pair of mind-numbing errors and scored six runs off Ivey to take an 8-7 lead.

The Eagles, though, had one more chance. Chris Mixon walked and Moose Carney singled to put runners on first and second with junior Hayden Hales at the plate. In a bunt situation – which, if done correctly, would have put runners on second and third with one out – Hales was swinging away.

Hales hit into a fielder’s choice. Runners were now on first and third with one out and the double play still intact. Anyone shy of Babe Ruth would be bunting in that situation. It’s what you do, but PCA didn’t.

Ivey then stepped up with a chance to tie the game with a single or a long flyout. He blooped a pop fly behind the second baseman at about the spot where infield dirt meets outfield grass. The second baseman made the catch and wheeled, surprised as anyone to see Mixon trying to tag up on a ball that traveled 100 feet.

The throw easily beat the speedy Mixon to home, where he made a valiant effort at avoiding the game-ending tag.

Following the game, Eagles’ players kidded around like it was the first day of school, while Ivey sat in the dugout blaming himself.

The Eagles had claimed the Academy A state championship already, and the overall tournament was &#8220gravy,” as coach Randy Wright put it.

A win over the larger classification Raiders would have given PCA’s program another step toward prominence in Mississippi. Any time a small school beats a bigger one, it’s something to treasure.

The baseball gods were not smiling on Pierce Field Tuesday evening.

While Dan Ivey took complete blame for the loss, it was the rest of the Eagles who should have been taking some responsibility as well.

Until the bitter end, Ivey has been a stand-up guy. To level blame on him is just wrong.