IT’S OVERTON! | Mustangs complete comeback, beat Gary, 3-1, in Game 3; advance to fourth round
The difference in Thursday night’s game one of the UIL Class 2A, Division II baseball playoff and what happened on Friday: well, it was the difference in daylight and dark.
Or maybe dark, then daylight, for coach Chris Cook and the Overton Mustangs, with Friday night’s games being the “daylight.”
Overton, who had won 12 straight games, dropped the first game of the best-of-three series against Gary, a 2-1 decision Thursday night at Hallsville High School. Turns out, that was a wake-up call, no pun intended.
Overton won twice on Friday and knocked Gary from the postseason, as the Mustangs advanced to the fourth round, or regional finals.
The Mustangs had to take game two on Friday night to force a tiebreaking game three. And they did it, a 7-5 game-two win that included a grand-slam home run by Rylan Holleman.
That was Overton serving notice that the series was over, and it was: the Mustangs got a masterful performance from Landon Hill on the mound, got the offense they needed, and then won game three, 3-1, and the series.
Overton (27-7) moves on to face Beckville in the fourth round, or Regional Finals, next week.
The series will be played at Longview High School.
Tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 each for students.
Game one will be Wednesday at 5 p.m. Beckville will be the home team for game one. Game two will be 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
And game three, if it’s needed to decide the series, will be Friday at 5 p.m., also at Longview, and a flip will be done prior to the game to determine who’s the home team.
Overton defeated Beckville twice in two one-run games back on April 15 and April 17; the Mustangs won, 5-4, at home on April 15, and they won the rematch two days later, 12-11, in Beckville, a game where Overton came roaring back late from an 11-3 deficit.
Back to Overton-Gary.
The Bobcats did enough to pull the upset on Thursday, and here’s our recap: GARY SLIPS BY OVERTON | Mustangs need to win game two to force a third-and-deciding game three.
But ultimately, they couldn’t do it: ultimately, they couldn’t put Overton away.
Rylan Holleman hit a grand slam in the fifth inning of game two to help lift the Overton Mustangs to that 7-5 win.
Holleman’s grand slam in the fifth inning was part of a 6-0 outburst by the Mustangs, giving them the lead for good. Before that fifth inning, Gary was up 5-1, having plated four runs of their own in the third.
As they have consistently, Gary made two errors in game two – Overton made none.
The Mustangs had six hits in the game. Holleman had three of them: the homer, a double and a single, and finished with 4 RBI.
Mason Rowe had a hit and an RBI; Brody Brown did, as well, and scored twice; and Bryson Bobbitt had a hit and scored a run. Bryce Still drew two walks in the game, and Joey Zalman drew one; Still also scored a run.
Jayden Edwards had a stolen base.
Holleman had five innings of work on the mound. He pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, with four walks, and he struck out six.
That meant, of course, game three would follow.
This one was tight, as well, with Overton plating a run in the first inning (1-0), then two more in the third (3-0 Overton lead).
Gary managed to bring a runner around and score in the top of the fifth, getting within two runs (3-1).
But Overton was the home team. With Hill’s strong performance, the Mustangs were able to get out of the sixth and the seventh without giving up a run, and that was ballgame.
Gary had the one run on five hits, and committed an error.
Overton had three runs on two hits, and had two errors.
Joey Zalman had a single and scored a run; Rowe had a triple and also scored a run; and Brown also had an RBI. Zalman and Bryson Bobbitt each drew a walk in the game. Bobbitt had two stolen bases, and Zalman had one.
Hill went the distance on the mound: seven innings pitched, one run allowed (not earned) on five hits. Hill walked three and struck out six.
