Entering the bottom of the ninth inning of Tuesday night's game, no one thought that the Arizona Diamondbacks were going to win their game against the Rockies. After recording only one walkoff victory during the 2012 season, the odds were certainly against them.
But just as he has done all season, Aaron Hill stepped into the batter's box and delivered a big hit for Arizona; a hit to the tune of a three run home run, giving Arizona a 5-2 victory and a shot at finishing the season with an above .500 record.
Although it may have been surprising, it still felt good all the same.
"It wasn't looking good there for a couple innings," Hill said after the game. "But obviously Mac (John McDonald) led it off, it was a great at-bat. He was swinging the bat great all day. Gerardo Parra had a great at-bat. It was just grind it out to the end. Any game is fun to win."
Parra and McDonald's presence on the bases set the stones for Hill to blast a ball to the left field bleachers, which not only ended the game, but it helped the team gain some momentum for the next game and beyond.
Kirk Gibson was just as excited as the players he manages. With it being just the second walkoff hit of the year, Gibson said that the reality of it is, "sad to say, but it sure felt good."
"We hope to have many more of those in the future with those guys contributing," Gibson said. "Winning never gets old."
The fans may have been in an uproar when Hill hit the big home run, but it was his longtime teammate John McDonald that was his biggest cheerleader. "It was a lot of fun," McDonald said postgame. "You give Aaron first and third, the season he's been having, the type of hitter he is, you just really feel like something good was going to happen. Didn't think he would hit a three run homer, but we'll take it."
Even the pitcher, Patrick Corbin, acknowledged that the hit was huge for the club, citing that the walkoff, "almost feels better than a win."
That is the type of winning attitude that is instilled in this team and the one that they will need to hold on to through next season.