Bulldogs claim top seed after pool play

MONROE La.—Despite an early loss, the Texarkana Bulldogs battled their way back into championship play.

After splitting its first two games on Friday, Texarkana took down the Alabama Outsiders, 9-3, on Saturday in the Tri-State Championship at the Sterlington Sports Complex.

With the win—and a little help with the tiebreaker rules—the Bulldogs claimed the top seed in pool play.

“We played better today,” Bulldogs manager Kevin Sutton said. “Our pitching was good and our defense was solid. We are not hitting the ball as well as we should.”

Texarkana’s Chris Lyles and Jacoby Ross led the team in hitting, each collecting two. Lyles went 2 for 4 at the plate, with two RBI, and Ross went 2 for 2 and also scored a run.

Bryan Moore, Connor Allred, Matthew Gilley and Cooper Perry also had a hit apiece for the Bulldogs.

Slayton Holland got the start— and victory—on the mound for Texarkana, while pitching five innings and striking out two.

“We fought our way back into championship play for (today), but we will have to play better to win,” Sutton said. “If we play ball like we can, we should have a pretty good outcome.

In earlier games, the Bulldogs defeated Bayou Black Sox, 10-3, but lost to Hunter Pence Baseball Academy, 6-5.

Moore brought in four runs against the Black Sox, and finished with two hits and a run. Matthew Gilley struck out four in four innings, while teammates Chris Sutton, Chris Lyles, Gilley and Ross each had a hit in the win.

Ryan Galvan absorbed the tough loss against Hunter Pence Baseball Academy, and Sutton, Moore, Lyles, Allred, Matthew Giller, Gilley and Perry all finished with a hit.