2023 2A State Championship Game

The clouds rolled in for the 2A State Championship game between the visiting team Harleton and the home team Shiner.  Shiner featured Drew Wenske on the bump with Bryce Nerada catching.  Harleton would throw Dylan Armstrong with Mason Clark catching.

Harleton would go down in order in the top of the first.  Shiner would get Wenske on first due to advancing on a drop third strike but couldn’t do anything else.  Offensively, the first inning was uneventful for both sides.  Someone gave Harleton new bats in the top of the 2^nd.  Back to back lead off singles and a walk would put the pressure on Shiner.  Add a couple more singles and an error and the score would quickly become 6-0.  Shiner could do nothing to counteract that offensive explosion and went down in order.

Harleton couldn’t repeat the prior inning performance.  They went down in order in the top of the third.

The highlight of the bottom of the third might have been the 1 hour and 39 minute rain delay. But the important thing for Shiner was after it was over they were able to hit a couple of singles that scored 3 runs.  Kennan Haley hit the first one and scored Lehnert and Carson Schuette drove in Peterson and Haley.

The Wildcats kept the pressure on Wenske in the 4^th.   Two hits, one an RBI single by Gage Shirts, forced a pitching change.  Carson Schuette took the mound for the Comanches.  He would record outs on the two batters he faced.  Armstrong would not show any effects of the rain delay facing just four batters, allowing no runs.

Harleton scored two runs in the top of the 5^th off just 1 hit.  Shawn Booth led off with a walk.  He advanced to second when Tanner Tate was hit by a pitch.  Peyton Murray would ground out to second and move the runners up.  That out proved to be critical as two wild pitches lady, Booth and Tate score.  The Comanches would muster two hits in the bottom of the 5^th inning but that was all the offense from them.

In the 6^th, back to back doubles, scores Gage Shirts for the Wildcats.  The next three batters would go down in order.  Shiner also went down in order in their half of the inning.  Schuette would walk the leadoff batter in the 7^th, record 2 outs then walk another before Landyn Pohler took the mound for Shiner.  Pohler would throw just 1 pitch as Gage Shirts would fly out to Ryan Peterson in center.  Shiner would  score two in the 7^th inning but that wouldn’t be enough.  Harleton would win the 2023 2A State Championship.

WP – Armstrong
LP –  Wenske

Player of the Game:  Carson Wallace