NOW, A BASEBALL FLYOVER | Friday’s roundup, featuring all the teams in the ETB area
There are some good things happening at Leverett’s Chapel right now.
A lot of them are happening in athletics.
Half the school qualified for the area track and field meet, and several of them are moving on to regionals (AREA TRACK RESULTS | LC, Overton athletes moving on to regionals; area 3A, 4A meets ongoing today).
And baseball coach A.J. Hendrix, in his first season ever as a head coach, is overseeing a program that, while rain has been a hindrance, still is having a competitive run.
LC won again on Friday, dealing Bloomburg a 7-5 loss. Now, Hendrix, the son of longtime baseball coach Ronnie Hendrix of West Rusk, knows the deal: he may be in his first year as a head coach, but he knows it’s baby steps. The Lions are 5-5-1, and have won four straight games.
In the win over MG, Carson Ford had a triple a single and 2 RBI. DeWaylon Brown had a double and two singles. Trent Wheat had a single and 3 RBI, and on the mound, struck out six in two innings.
The Ethan Connection – as in Ethan Kirk and Ethan Williams – did pretty well, too. Kirk had four strikeouts and walked two in 4 2/3 innings, and Williams had a single and 2 RBI. And Keaton Geter had a single and 2 RBI.
There’s been a lot of movement on the schedule, Hendrix noted to ETBlitz.com this past week, due to all of the rain and inclement weather. But they’re scheduled to host Miller rove on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Overton 9, Union Grove 1: It’s been another fantastic athletic year for the Mustangs, and it’s not nearly over yet. Track and field is strong, and has several headed to regionals, and softball hasn’t lost a district game (THE FLYOVER, SOFTBALL STYLE | A look at every single game from Friday night, and updating the playoff situation in each district).
Oh, yeah: and how ‘bout those baseball Mustangs?
After Friday night’s home win over UG, the Mustangs are 19-6 overall, and 7-2 in District 19-2A, with four games left. This coming week has two against Beckville: on Tuesday at home, JV first at 4 p.m., then at Beckville, also JV first, on Thursday.
The following week, on Tuesday, April 22, the Mustangs visit Elysian Fields, and then close the regular season hosting Elysian Fields on Friday, April 25.
Last night, they closed out UG pretty well, though, didn’t they?
The Lions led early, 1-0, a run in the top of the second. And that was the game’s only score until Overton scored twice in the fourth, for a 2-1 lead.
Finally, the Mustangs broke through for a six-run fifth, and that would be all-she-wrote; UG wouldn’t get another run.
Overton finished with nine hits, and here they are: Mason Rowe had three of them, and 2 RBI, also scoring a run. Landon Hill went 2-of-3, with 2 RBI, and scored twice.
And Rylan Holleman, Braxton Harper, Joey Zalman, and Brody Brown each had a hit – Zalman also had 2 RBI. The Mustangs did all of that damage without an extra-base hit.
As usual, they did do some damage along the base path. Rowe and Harper were deadly, each stealing three bases. Zalman, Brown and Hill each stole a base.
And Hill was very good in a complete-game, seven-inning performance on the mound: six strikeouts, one run (earned) allowed on five hits, and walked four.
Henderson 10, Gilmer 0: Two times this week, the Lions have met Gilmer on a baseball diamond, and both times, Henderson came away with wins.
Henderson, it can be said, is hitting its stride at just the right time.
Coach Brock Lemire is in his first year as head coach of the Lions, and they’re 13-10 overall, but a very-respectable 7-4 in District 16-4A. They’ve won five of their last six, with a loss to Pine Tree (a make-up game from last Friday) sandwiched in between the two wins over Gilmer this week.
Henderson has three games left in the regular season, all in district play: they’re scheduled to visit Carthage on Tuesday, starting with a junior varsity game at 4:30, then varsity afterward; that same format will hold true on Thursday, when Carthage comes to town to face the Lions; and then they’ll host Cumberland Academy on Tuesday, April 22 in the regular season finale, and that’s also the Lions’ senior night.
As for Gilmer, the Buckeyes were strong early, but they’ve slipped a little. They’re 11-10, and 4-6 in district play. Right now, that has them in fifth place, but certainly not out of the 4A playoff hunt, with three games left in the regular season. Gotta be in the top four, though, to get in. Right now, that’s Spring Hill (11-0 in district), Carthage (9-2), Kilgore (7-4) and Henderson (7-4).
Gilmer has two games against Kilgore this week: at Kilgore at Driller Park on Tuesday, starting with JV at 4:30, then at home against KHS on Thursday, also starting at 4:30 with JV. And then the Buckeyes finish the season at Spring Hill on April 22.
At Henderson on Friday night, the Lions were just in shut-down mode, just like they were on Tuesday in Gilmer. Brian Biggs allowed only one hit to Gilmer on Tuesday (by Dillon Griffin, a single), and Kayne Brantley didn’t give the Buckeyes much more than that on Friday.
Gilmer had three hits Friday night. Zach Turner had a double, their only extra-base hit. Brantley had six strikeouts and walked three.
For Henderson, Caden Foster had a double and two singles; Manning Bradley and Brantley each had two singles, and Coy Freeman had two singles and an RBI.
Ryder Lange had five strikeouts in as many innings for the Buckeyes.
Spring Hill 15, Kilgore 0: Kilgore has lost just a handful of times since early March, but the Bulldogs had a rough night Friday night in Longview.
The Panthers, unbeaten in 16-4A as mentioned with a 10-0 record coming into Friday, made it 11-0 with 11 runs in the first two innings. Kilgore had a tough time finding offense, as only Cason Edney had a hit in the game, and it was a single.
Tanner Beets pitched two innings for KHS, and the good news from that outing is that Beets only walked one Panther. Braylon Reyes threw 1 2/3 innings for the Diamond ‘Dogs, as well. They combined to allow 15 runs on 13 hits (nine earned runs).
Kilgore drops to 10-14-1 on the season, but almost all of those losses were in February and early March. The Bulldogs are 7-4 in 16-4A, with three games left: at home against Gilmer on Tuesday at Driller, 4:30 p.m. JV start, varsity to follow, then at Gilmer on Thursday; and then the regular season finale at Carthage on Tuesday, April 22, also a 4:30 p.m. JV start, with varsity afterward.
Tatum 8, Brook Hill 1: Coach Dustin Russell’s Tatum Eagles have had the week off from the grind that is the District 16-3A schedule. They were off, period, on Tuesday, just taking an open date. But on Friday, they made the trek to Bullard to face Brook Hill, and came away with an 8-1 victory.
In the win, Colt Bullard had two singles and 2 RBI. Tucker Anthony had a double, a single and also had 2 RBI for the Eagles (17-6). Cooper Whiteus had two singles. Kody Hines had a single and 2 RBI. Dustin Henigan had a single and 2 RBI. Logan Cansler had a heck of a time on the mound, with 12 strikeouts and a walk allowed in a complete-game seven-inning performance for the win.
Tatum is 7-2, along with Troup, in 16-3A play, and will get back to the district schedule on Tuesday, with a trip to White Oak. That’ll start, like about all the schedules, with a junior varsity game at 4:30, and varsity will play after. On Thursday, White Oak visits Tatum in that same format (this coming Friday is Good Friday). And Tatum finishes the regular season at home against Sabine on Tuesday, April 22.
Troup 4, White Oak 2: Speaking of Troup, the Tigers trailed early on the road at White Oak Friday and had to dig themselves out of an 0-2 hole – coach Charles Foshee’s Roughnecks scored twice in the first inning on the Tigers.
Troup, though, bounced back with three runs of their own in the third, scored another in the fifth and held White Oak scoreless the rest of the way in a 16-3A battle. Troup (18-6 overall, 7-2 in district) won its fifth straight game, in spite of the early deficit and two errors.
White Oak (16-6-1) has lost three straight, but is still in good shape, with a 6-4 district record and in third place in the district with three games to go.
Troup’s remaining schedule looks like this: they’re at Sabine on Tuesday – the Cardinals have had a tough year, and haven’t won a district game in a VERY hard district. That’ll begin at 4:30 p.m. with the JV game. Sabine visits Troup on Thursday. Then, Troup finishes the regular season at home against Arp on Tuesday, April 22.
White Oak in the last two regular season games will have to face Tatum, though: they host Tatum on Tuesday, then visit Tatum on Thursday. The ‘Necks have that last date, April 22, open.
In the loss to Troup on Friday, White Oak had three hits: Jordy Robertson had a double, and 2 RBI. Tyson McKinney also had a double, and Jaxsen Ludlow had a hit. Ludlow pitched three innings, allowing a run, unearned, and notching three strikeouts, allowing two hits and two walks. Logan Langewisch pitched four innings, allowing three runs, all earned, on three hits, walked three, and struck out six.
Troup had five hits, and all were singles: Carter Graves went 2-for-4, and Carson Davenport, Logan Lockey and Caden Switzer each had a hit. Davenport had 2 RBI, and Caden Graves had one.
Kash Hardy had a stolen base.
Davenport pitched the complete-game win, seven innings pitched, three strikeouts – he allowed two runs (one earned), with two hits allowed and walked four.
West Rusk 9, Sabine 0: The Raiders dealt Sabine two losses this week, this being the second, and did so this time allowing the Cardinals two hits.
Lincoln Royce and Kellen Hill had the hits for Sabine, who hopes to get at least one win before its regular season ends this week. The Cards will host Troup, starting with JV at 4:30, on Tuesday; they’ll visit Troup on Thursday, starting at 4:30 with JV; and then finish the season at home against Tatum on April 22.
Doing the shutting down on the mound for West Rusk on Friday night were Cole Jackson and Kullin Tavarez. Jackson threw five innings, with eight strikeouts and allowing two walks, and Tavarez threw two innings, with six strikeouts.
Cole Loveless and Hill pitched for Sabine. Loveless threw four innings and allowed seven runs (only one earned; Sabine was charged with seven errors) on four hits, and walked two; he struck out two. And Hill pitched three innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits, and also walked two.
Gladewater 13, Arp 8: The Bears are in fifth, currently, in 16-3A, a 6-5 mark in district, but still hope to slip past White Oak – or someone – and get into the UIL 3A playoffs.
For that to happen, they were really in a must-win situation Friday night at Arp.
For a while, things were looking good for the Bears. They came out, scored four runs in the top of the first, added two in the second, and five more in the third. They led 11-1.
Arp put up a fight midway through, though, plating six runs in the bottom of the fourth, cutting into Gladewater’s lead (11-7). The Bears scored two insurance runs in the fifth for the game’s final score.
Madaxx Vasquez was the biggest Bear of them all on Friday: four hits, all of them singles, in five at-bats, with three runs scored and 2 RBI. Preston Bohanon had a double and 3 RBI. Mason Budro went 2-for-4 with an RBI. And Luke Brown, Landen King, Aubry Floyd, Alex Villalpando and Jeremiah Flanagan all each had a hit – Villalpando had 3 RBI, and Floyd had one.
Bohanon, Budro and Flanagan each had a stolen base.
Vasquez went 3 2/3 innings on the mound, allowing seven runs but only one of them earned, on two hits, walked three and struck out three. Luke Brown went 3 1/3 innings, allowing a run, earned, on two hits, a walk, and struck out four.
For Arp (8-14-1 overall, 2-7 in 16-3A), Landon Smith went 4 2/3 innings of strong baseball. He allowed two runs, unearned, on three hits, no walks, and had a strikeout. Brody McDown pitched an inning, allowing three runs, all earned, and two walks, and had a strikeout, and Isaac Poe pitched two innings, allowing eight runs, five of them earned, on seven hits, walked two and struck out two.
At the plate for the Tigers, Will Sanford had a home run and 4 RBI; Alex Ponce, a freshman, had a double; Adan Ponce had a hit and 2 RBI; Julian Barocio also had a hit and 2 RBI; AB Martin had a hit; and Mason Wallace had a hit.
The Bears finish the season with a home game against West Rusk on April 22.
Arp hosts West Rusk on Tuesday, as mentioned, the JV going first at 4:30; they visit West Rusk in New London on Thursday, again with JV at 4:30 , then varsity; and they play at Troup to close the regular season on April 22.
