Mustangs topple Bruins, complete sweep of series
Matchup against Pearland awaits in area round
Kingwood finally started practicing on its own field at spring break, but it still hasn’t played a home game since Hurricane Harvey flooded its campus.
Crosby’s artificial turf field was the next best thing Saturday.
The Mustangs spotted Beaumont West Brook a three-run lead in the first inning but bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the first en route to a 10-4 victory in Game 2 in their best-of-three Class 6A first-round playoff, giving them a series sweep and back-to-back bi-district crowns.
“Any time you can come out and get a win and only play two, it means your bullpen is fresh going into next week,” Kingwood coach Kelly Mead said. “Hopefully, we can carry that momentum forward.
“We’ve had a pretty good year up to this point, despite a lot of adversity, with some of the things we’ve gone through with our school, and not being able to play a home game at our field, and our kids have really battled and handled it very well. So they deserve everything they’ve worked for.”
The Mustangs improved to 26-4-2 on the year.
They rolled in Game 1, winning 26-3 at West Brook before shifting the series to their “home” field in Crosby.
They’ll face Pearland in the area playoffs.
The Bruins ended their season at 20-12, but they clearly were hoping to play another game after starting fast Saturday.
Leadoff Cole McConnell singled and scored, Tyler Sterling scored on Brock Hall’s groundout, and Cal Fulton doubled and scored on a wild pitch, giving them as many runs as they had in Game 1 in the first inning.
But the Mustangs weren’t deterred.
They responded by batting around in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs on two hits, two errors and two walks.
“We lost a little focus in that first inning, because of the game that happened on Thursday night,” Mead said. “We game out and played pretty well. I’m not saying we weren’t ready to play … we just lost a little bit of focus. If Trey Richardson, our shortstop, doesn’t boot that ball up the middle, that’s a doubleplay ball.
“But they did what they were supposed to do after that.”
Starting pitcher Tanner Brooks didn’t have the cleanest outing.
He struggled in the first, then hit two leadoff batters and walked another, but he still held the Bruins hitless through the middle five innings with help from his defense, which successfully turned three doubles plays after Richardson’s early miscue — and the shortstop was involved in all three.
Brooks went the distance, allowing four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks on 104 pitches.
“We played pretty well defensively all year, so if our guys will just throw strikes and give us a chance to play, then we usually do pretty well,” Mead said. “And Tanner competes his butt off, and it’s a good sign for us that, after that bad inning, he could have carried that back out in the second, but he didn’t.”
The Mustangs manufactured runs after the big first, in large part on 11 stolen bases.
They finished with six hits, led by Carter Amarantos (2-for-3, three runs) and designated hitter Aaron Lucks (2-for-3, three RBIs).
Lucas Cardenas took the loss for West Brook.
“We try to play the game, and obviously we’re going to do and take what the pitcher gives us,” Mead said.