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Thursday evening brought a mix of the routine and not-so-routine to The Bottoms.

Perhaps expected was an East Rutherford victory. The Cavaliers, considered by many the leading contender for the state 2A baseball title, closed an undefeated regular season by downing Polk County 9-0, improving to 22-0 behind Jacob Lee’s two-hit complete game and two home runs.

Far from the norm, though, was Polk’s first at-bat of the game.

Opening the bottom of the first for the Wolverines was junior Gunnar Alm, and the Polk standout hammered a 2-0 Lee pitch to center field.

Back to the fence raced East Rutherford center fielder Elliott Tisdale, who leaped, slammed into the fence, landed and held his glove high. Alm, nearly to second base, doffed his helmet toward Tisdale in tribute for the effort and apparent catch.

And then things took a turn.

Alm stopped, and he and all of Polk County’s bench began pointing to East Rutherford fans – looking for an earlier home run ball – in the woods behind the fence where Tisdale jumped. The Wolverines all claimed that one of those fans picked up Tisdale’s cap and a ball and handed both back into play, that Alm’s ball actually ticked off Tisdale’s glove and cleared the fence for a home run. Alm returned helmet to head and completed his trip around the bases.

East Rutherford players and coaches disagreed. So, too, did the umpires, who ruled Alm out despite vehement protests from the Polk County dugout.

Compared to that frenzy, the rest of the night proved rather quiet. Lee struck out five, walked none and allowed only two singles to Polk senior Karson Scruggs. The Cavaliers hit four home runs, scoring three runs in the first, two in the third and four in the seventh.

Despite the loss, Polk County (11-13) still has an excellent chance at opening the state 1A playoffs at home. Pairings will be announced Monday – the Wolverines currently sit 10th in RPI in 1A West and project as the 13th seed.

The state playoffs will begin Tuesday. It’s doubtful they’ll be much more dramatic than Thursday’s first inning.