TATUM / WEST RUSK! | Go back and check out real-time updates from game one of the series
EDITOR’S NOTE: ETBlitz.com’s Mitch Lucas and Joe Hale are in Rusk for the first game of the UIL Class 3A regional quarterfinals (third round) baseball playoff between the Tatum Eagles and the West Rusk Raiders. Mitch will be here throughout game one, live, as long as the game lasts (or as long as his BATTERY will last tonight!).
Game time is at 7 p.m. Back in 9 minutes.
OK, a few notes:
Announcer introducing lineups just pointed out that Tatum, who won the district (these two are district rivals) come into this game with a 20-9 overall record.
Carson Gonzalez, the current Whataburger / ETBlitz.com boys Player of the Week, is getting the start on the mound tonight.
West Rusk is 18-12-1 on the season. Cole Jackson gets the start on the mound and Xander Mason will be his catcher.
Oh, hey, y’all. 🙂
Beautiful night for baseball. They moved this game up a night (is it up? or back? OK, it was supposed to be Thursday. It’s Wednesday tonight, whatever that is). Inclement weather expected tomorrow.
What is “inclement” anyway? Not good, I guess. I guess that means if you don’t have much money, your bank account is “inclement.” Or maybe that just applies to the weather. I need to ask my good friend and your weatherman, Mark Scirto about that.
As I go on about this, Tatum has runners at the corners in the top of the first, with one out.
Dustin Henigan is at the plate, and he’s got a ball and a strike on him, by Cole Jackson.
He fouls off a pitch and now has a 1-2 count.
The mosquitos out here in Rusk are large, man.
Like, I feel like they’re about to carry me off.
Henigan belts a sac fly into right field and scores a run (Tatum leads, 1-0). And the mosquitos are putting salt and pepper on my left arm as I speak.
Cayden Tatum is up, and has two strikes on him now. But he smacks a single into center and it’s now 2-0 Tatum, an RBI single.
Brody Downs fouls off a ball and is down 0-2 in the count. It’s a dropped third strike, but Mason throws him out and West Rusk gets out of the inning, but down 2-0.
Gonzalez walks West Rusk center fielder Jase Reasoner to start the bottom of the second. And Garrett Sipes takes a pitch right down the middle for a strike one.
Being at a baseball field with turf instead of grass is surreal. And pretty cool.
Sipes singles, and the Raiders are in business with Reasoner at second, Sipes at first and big-bat Cole Jackson at the plate.
Jackson has a ball and a strike on the first two pitches, then strike two. Sipes is anxious at first and ready to run. Both teams are ready for this game.
A full count turns into a low ball, the umpire says, and Jackson walks. The bases are loaded for Kullen Tavarez, the clean-up batter for the Raiders. He takes strike one.
He swings at strike two.
Wow, he swung at a good pitch, strikeout. I don’t blame him. Heck of a pitch.
That was out one. Ty Harper is up now. He fouls off the first pitch.
I could really go for a Whataburger spicy chicken sandwich right now.
Harper gets a hit, an RBI single, that scores Reasoner. 2-1 Tatum.
Tatum gets out of the inning when Sipes is tagged out at home trying to score.
Top of the second. Ashby Anthony of Tatum on a full count gets rang up for strike three by a little bit of an overexuberant umpire. Lot of coffee on the way here, apparently.
Kody Hines, a sophomore, is up, and is ahead of Jackson in the count, 3-1. But he swings away anyway, and ends up with a 1-out single.
Kohen Kiefer to the plate with Hines on first and an out in the books. Kiefer has two strikes on him. Hines has stolen second.
Tatum has runners at the corners and Gonzalez, the pitcher, at the plate with two outs.
(Sorry. A guy’s gotta stand sometimes.)
Hines comes around during Gonzalez’s at-bat to score; it’s 3-1 Tatum.
Gonzalez walks. Two on, at first and second, two outs. Grant Adcock at the plate.
Tatum’s Cooper Whiteus is thrown out by Mason at third trying to steal for out three, so the score remains 3-1 Tatum, headed to the bottom of the second.
Tatum third baseman Ashby Anthony turns two big plays for two outs in the bottom of the inning, and Gonzalez gets a strikeout for out three to send us to the top of the third.
The umpire turns around and calls for the lights to be turned on, and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” hits at the same time. Couldn’t time that better, I don’t guess.
Cayden Tatum legs out a two-out triple for the Eagles in the top of the third, just as I thought the Raiders might get out of the inning without damage. Brody Downs comes to the plate looking to bring him home.
And he does it, an RBI single — it’s 4-1 Tatum.
If you’ve been reading tonight, yes, the mosquitos ARE worse.
Anthony is up, with Downs at first and two outs. But he hits a line drive to the second baseman, Darren Nix, and the Raiders are out of the inning. Not before giving up another run, though, and are down 4-1, coming to the plate.
It’s Boston’s “More Than A Feeling.” (Boston – More Than A Feeling – Remastered (youtube.com))
With an out in the books, the Raiders get to the top of their lineup, as Reasoner comes to the plate, but Gonzalez manages to strike him out for out two.
Sipes is up. He pops up foul and it’s caught by first baseman Luis Sanchez.
In the top of the fourth, Hines is just findin’ it. He belts a single into left center. Kiefer bunts him to second, and with an out, Cooper Whiteus comes to the plate.
Whiteus is out, and now Gonzalez represents either out three or a baserunner.
Ty Harper runs all the way over to make sure he’s out three, a heck of a run and a catch all the way from right field to take us to the bottom of the fourth. And Brooks & Dunn. Brand New Man (youtube.com).
The Raiders just struggling to get the ball out of the infield right now, as we pull up to the top of the fifth.
Adcock gives West Rusk more problems, as he starts the inning with a double.
The Raiders, though, get out of the inning, two outs, then Jackson striking out Downs to end the Tatum half of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, West Rusk — which needs runs in a hurry — get Xander Mason on with a walk to lead off.
Luis Sanchez is up to the plate.
Sanchez advances the runner and darn near looked safe but is called out at first. One out, Mason at second.
Nix is picked off by Whiteus at shortstop in a run-down. Two outs.
Back to the plate. Nix is there, and now he’s not. He walks.
King is at the plate now, with one on and two out.
But he grounds to the first baseman, who steps on the plate for out three. Top of six, here we come.
Anthony leads off with a single.
West Rusk turns a 4-6-3 double play.
And Jackson strikes out Kiefer to end the top of the sixth. Bottom of the sixth, on its way.
The top of the Raiders’ lineup starts it off, with Reasoner. He walks on four straight balls.
Garrett Sipes, who hit very well in the Raiders’ series against Dekalb, is up.
Sipes belts a single to left, and there’s no outs, with two on.
Raiders making a run. Here comes Cole Jackson.
Tatum coaches want time to talk to Gonzalez, who’s been solid so far, but might be showing signs of getting tired.
And coach Dustin Russell is making the switch. He’s putting Cayden Tatum on the mound.
Jackson walks and the bases are loaded, with no outs and West Rusk down 4-1. Kullen Tavarez at the plate.
Tavarez hits a ball and the runner, Reasoner, is sent on a sac fly (out one). But he’s out at home, thrown out by the left fielder and tagged at home by the catcher, Adkock, for out two. Still two runners on for batter Ty Harper.
Harper grounds out to the shortstop and we’re off to the seventh.
Whiteus leads off with a double for Tatum, whose Eagles are up 4-1, in case I haven’t mentioned that in a while.
Jackson strikes out Gonzalez for out one, and now Jackson is coming off. West Rusk coach Tyler Wilbanks is bringing on Reasoner to pitch to Adcock with one out already in the books.
Adcock is walked and Henigan is up. He doubles, an RBI double that scores Whiteus (5-1). But Adcock is out at third. Henigan is standing at second as Cayden Tatum is at the plate with two outs.
Henigan goes to third on a wild pitch, but Tatum walks. Downs is back up with two outs and runners at the corners.
Henigan scores on a wild pitch to give the Eagles a 6-1 lead, but Tatum is caught in a run-down, and we’re going to the bottom of the seventh.
Mason comes to the plate, with the Raiders trailing by five. Remember, though: this is a series, a best-of-three-game series.
Mason flies out to right, and Sanchez is at the plate.
Sanchez is out, and West Rusk is down to its final out of the night.
Nix comes to the plate. He walks, and Braylon Porter comes in as a pinch hitter.
Porter hits a ball into center field for the final out of the night, and Tatum takes game one, 6-1.
Game two will be Friday night at 7 p.m., and West Rusk will need to win that game to extend its season.
Y’all have a great night!