REGIONAL SEMIFINAL MINI RECAPS

Littlefield over Sonora, 10-5
In the first region I semifinal, you have Littlefield out of district 2-3A, and Sonora out of 5-3A going at it. This was the only 1-game series in the regional semifinal round and it took place on Thursday, so whoever won this game would be the first to have their ticket punched to the finals. Littlefield got the offense going early with 2 runs in the first inning. Sonora answered back in the bottom half of the first with 3 of their own, but it was Littlefield with 4 in the 3rd and 2 in the sixth to help seal the deal. The offensive surge was spread throughout the lineup, but Bryson Calaway finished 3-5 while Reese Rogers was 2-3 with 1 base on balls and 1 RBI.

Shallowater over Cisco, 3-1; 3-4; 3-2
This West Texas regional semifinal was one of the tightest ones out there this past week. In Game 1, Cisco was able to take a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning, but it was Shallowater with 3 runs in the 5th that led to the victory. Connor Smith had the big single in the inning to give the Mustangs the lead for good. Ryan Kotulek tossed 7 innings, giving up just 1 hit, 1 unearned run, and 8 strikeouts. After Cisco took game 2, it game down to a winner-take-all game 3. Shallowater broke out with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but Cisco would answer with a 2-spot in the bottom of the inning. Jarrett Simons & Connor Smith had RBI singles in the 4th & 5th inning for the Mustangs. Simons was also excellent on the mound, going all 7 innings giving up just 6 hits, 2 runs, and 7 K’s.

Pottsboro over Van Alstyne, 1-5; 8-2; 6-2
It was not easy for Pottsboro here. The Cardinals fell in game 1 to Van Alstyne, but managed to battle back in games 2 and 3 to earn series win. In game 2, Pottsboro held a tight 2-1 advantage in the 5th inning, before the Cardinals dropped 6 runs to pull away for the win. Miles Mitchusson had the big hit in the inning, with the 3-RBI triple. Tyler Tuck struck over 10 Panther batters in his 7 complete innings on the hill. In game 3, Pottsboro put to the pressure on, scoring 1 in the first and 2 in the 2nd to build a 3-0 lead. The Panthers scored 2 in the bottom half of the frame to cut if to 3-2, but it was the Cardinals that would add on 3 insurance runs in the 5th. Tyler Tuck was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with 1 base on balls and 1 RBI.

Edgewood over Gunter, 1-5; 3-0; 6-5
Just like with Pottsboro and Van Alstyne, Edgewood would have to put a game 1 loss behind them and battle back to take games 2 & 3 to advance past Gunter and earn themselves a spot in the region II finals. Edgewood was in good hands with Jackson Tyner on the hill, with the senior giving up nothing to help force a game 3.  With two top ranked teams, having this series going down to the wire should not have surprised anyone.  The Bulldogs were down 3-0 after five innings, but got it clicking in the 6th with 6 runs.  Gunter had the tying run on 2nd base with no outs in the 7th, but he was not able to score.

West over Elkhart, 6-2; 5-1
West had only dropped 2 games all year coming into this regional semifinal series. The Trojans continued to look strong in all three phases of the game here with their sweep over a solid Elkhart team. In game 1 it was a balanced effort with the likes of Preston Macik, Dalton Wiethorn, JR Rozyskie, and Karder Bing all driving in runs for West. Bailey Horn was solid on the mound, throwing 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 9. In game 2 you had a similar theme with Griffin Paxton, Landon Kock, Brandt Shilling, and Wiethorn all driving in runs. To go along with that you have another quality start on the mound, with Preston Macik tossing all 7 innings, giving up just 1 hit, 1 run, and striking out 9.

Teague over New Waverly, 8-7; 6-3
Teague and New Waverly arguably played the most exciting game of the regional semifinal round of the playoffs in game 1. For one, you had extra innings. Secondly, you have two quality teams. Lastly, you have a back-and-forth affair. Teague took control early in the contest but New Wavelry managed to battle back to tie up the game to take it to extras. In the end it was a 3rd-to-1st balk that scored Teague baserunner Mikkail Shepherd to give the Lions a win. The second game was a total team effort as the Lions battled back from an early deficit to sweep the series.

Lago Vista over Banquete, 2-3; 6-5; 9-1
After battling in two tight contests, game 3 between the Vikings and Bulldogs got interesting. Lago Vista held a 7-1 lead over Banquete when weather set it and forced the teams to relocate to Kerrville for the final two innings of play. Lago Vista was not letting this lead slip away and pulled away for the 9-1 win. Alex DeLeon (4-8, 6 RBI) and Collin Docker (4-9, 3 RBI) came through big at the plate. Coach Grant credits his group, saying they have a “never say die mentality”. “They are so fun to coach and I can’t wait to continue this journey with them.”

Bishop over Comfort, 3-2; 5-6; 12-1
Games 1 & 2 went down to the wire in this series, but the Badgers left no doubt in game 3, cruising to the 12-1 win in just 5 innings of play. Bishop used great pitching and defense in game 1 to help secure the 9-inning win. Noe Garza was clutch in relief, going 3 innings while giving up just 2 hits, no runs, and 2 strikeouts. A Wade Rogers walk-off single scored Garza in the final frame. In game 3, it was offense and defense. Nick Colecio was 2-2 with a grand slam, accounting for 5 runs driven in. Kobrey Garcia was also perfect on the evening, going 3-3 with an RBI. Garza went all 5 innings, giving up just 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 3.

REGIONAL SEMIFINAL MINI RECAPS

Venus over Ft. Stockton, 11-3; 6-1
Venus was convincing in their regional semifinal win, outscoring Ft. Stockton 17-4 in 2 games for the sweep. In game one, the Bulldogs took control early with 6 runs in the first two innings to put the game out of reach early. Tanney Foy finished the evening 3-4 from the plate with 1 double, 1 base on balls, and 2 RBI’s. Tyler Foy was 2-3 with 1 double, 1 base on balls, and 3 runs driven in. In game 2, Venus was led by Kelby Storm on the mound. The sophomore pitched like a senior, going the distance and limiting Ft. Stockton to just 4 hits and 1 run. Storm also struck out 4 while only walking 2.

Abilene Wylie over Bushland, 4-1; 11-2
When you play this late in the season, you have to deal with things like graduation. This forced an unusual Wednesday/Saturday schedule, but it did not have any impact on the Bulldogs level of play. In game 1, you had a 1-1 tie heading to the 7th inning. That was until Wylie’s Jaxson Money stepped to plate, unleashing a 3-run triple to help give the Bulldogs the win. Wylie starter Hutton Frazier was solid while Conner Carlton came in and closed it out in the 7th. The Bulldogs offense exploded in game two, putting in 9 runs in the first 3 innings. Jaxon Money once again was big at the plate, going 2-4 with 3 RBI’s. Bryce Gist was 3-3 with 1 RBI and Payton Stokes was 2-2 with an RBI.

Pleasant Grove over Melissa, 11-3; 19-4
The Hawks are getting red hot as they traditionally do at this point in the season. Pleasant Grove scored a total of 30 runs in their two wins over a Melissa squad that was playing with a ton of confidence. These types of performances are not really new to the fans in Texarkana, as these offensive outbursts were routine during a stretch in district play. Pleasant Grove pounded out 16 hits in game one with Jarod Bayless claiming 4 of them to go along with 4 RBI’s. In game 2, that production was amped up another notch with 19 total runs on 18 hits. Hudson Hopkins (4 hits, 2 2Bs, 1 3B) and Mark Ashby (3 singles) combined for 7 of those hits.

Argyle over Van, 2-1; 5-1
Argyle never let Van get anything going in their regional semifinal matchup. The Eagles limited the Vandals to just 1 run in each of the two games of their series. Though the teams combined for 16 hits in game 1, it was a tight low scoring affair. Argyle claimed the lead in the 4th with a Hunter Markwardt single, scoring Aaron Cullen. Rixey Boyd got the walk off single in the 7th, bringing in Tanner Boyzuick. Boyd also pitched all 7 innings, giving 7 up hits and 1 run while striking out 6. In game 3, Argyle scored 1 run in the 3rd and 3 in the 4th to create separation. Connor Mushinski struck out 8 and gave up just 1 run in his 7 innings of work.

Huffman Hargrave over Center, 3-1; 13-4
Coming into this series something was going to have to give. Both teams had combined for a 47-7-1 record and had been on top of their games the last several weeks. In game one, we got a low scoring tight contest. It did not appear like it would end up like that, as Huffman scored their 3 runs of the game in the very first inning. Cody Stone, Justin Waltmon, and James Tutor were responsible for the RBI’s. That was more than enough for Jake Harrison, giving up just 5 hits and 1 run in his 7 innings on the mound. In game two, it was an overall teams effort as Huffman coasted in punching their ticket to the regional finals.

West Orange-Stark over Carthage, 0-9; 7-4; 4-0

West Orange-Stark had to overcome adversity.  After dropping game 1 9-0, the Mustangs were able to re-gain their composure to take 2 straight from the Carthage Bulldogs to advance into the regional finals.  This was nothing new to WO-S, as just last week they accomplished the same feat by winning back-to-back games against Bellville to move on.  In game 2, Carthage held a 3-0 advantage but the Mustangs outscored the Bulldogs 11-1 the rest of the series.  Coach Shea Landry credits his team saying they showed “a lot of character the past 2 weeks”.  Grant Anderson, Payton Robertson, and Grant Lapoint-Teate all played a big role in the series win.

El Campo over Sinton, 1-0; 5-4
It was a two game sweep, but it was tight as both games were decided by just one run. Pitching and defense seems to take over at this point of the season, and in game 1 we had plenty of that. Chad Quinn, the El Campo starter, was brilliant in his 7 innings of work. The senior gave up just 3 hits and no runs while striking out 6 Pirates batters. Blaine Fuechec got the RBI single way back in the first to create the only separation needed. Game two saw more offense. Sinton had the 4-3 lead heading to the 6th, but a Bryce Brandle single in the frame tied the game up. In the 8th inning it was Andrew Saucedo that would score on a passed ball.

Hidalgo over Brazosport, 2-0; 13-7
In this regional semifinal series, Hidalgo showed that they can win a tight, lower scoring contest while also winning a game with the bats. In game 1, the Pirates got 2 runs in the 2nd frame, and that was all that Oscar Noguera would need on this night. The senior never let the Exporters get any type of offense going with no runs and 6 K’s in his 7 innings on the hill. Adrian Ruiz was 2-3 with 1 RBI in the contest. In game two, the Pirates broke open the game with a 9-spot. Michael Alvarez led the charge, going 5-5 from the plate with 2 2B’s and 2 RBI’s. Ruiz had a big blow with a 3-run home run in the 5th.

Lake Travis continues to rise to the occasion in the playoffs, getting a Game One 3-2 win Thursday evening over Dallas Jesuit. Jesuit has been a Top 5 ranked team in Texas most of the season and is currently ranked #5 in the Max Preps National Poll.

Lake Travis pitcher Tate Sanford held a powerful Dallas Jesuit hitting lineup to 2 runs in 6.1 innings on just 5 hits. Tate Gillespie picked up the last 2 outs in the 7th top pick up the save.

Lake Travis scored the first run of the game in their first at bat. Lead off hitter Chris Roller singled and advanced to 3rd on a Triolo single. Roller scored on a Brad Demco fly ball to centerfield.

The Cavaliers scored 2 more runs in the 4th when they got another Sac Fly RBI, this time from Jordan Markim and then a RBI single from Chris Funk.

As Lake Travis found ways to score, Sanford found ways to keep them from scoring. All 5 hits allowed were singles. Jesuit did not have an extra base hit in the game.

The big win over Jesuit follows up a huge series win over College Park in the Regional Quarterfinals. College Park had been a Top 10 team for most of the year, had lost only 4 games all year and came into the series with a 9 game winning streak. The Lake Travis Cavaliers prevailed in that series.

Lake Travis and Dallas Jesuit meet for Game 2 Friday night at Jesuit.

Tate Stanford Picture courtesy of Donald Boyles http://donaldjboyles.smugmug.com/