Leopards, Tigers tie at 3-all
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texas High had to rally from behind, twice, to finish tied with Liberty-Eylau in the final game of the opening day of the Battle of the Border baseball tournament at THS Thursday.
The Tigers and Leopards finished in a 3-all tie in a game with superb pitching from both teams’ starters. Earlier in the day, Longview won a pair of games.
The Lobos won both of their games:
10-5 over Liberty-Eylau and 10-2 against Arkansas High.
Today’s games begin with Atlanta and Longview at 1 p.m. The Lobos and LibertyEylau face off at 3:30 p.m., and Texas High takes on Arkansas High at 6.
Tie-Liberty-Eylau 3, Texas High 3
With two outs in the seventh L-E’s Colby Brooks drilled a stand-up double off the wall in right-center field, and courtesy runner Krayson Battle scored from second on Nate Moore’s hit to left to regain the lead for the Leopards.
Texas High got a leadoff infield hit from Zane Dodson, who was bunted to second before Caden Miller’s single to deep shortstop. Ben DePriest singled to right to knot the score the second time.
Gage Bellatti took a no-decision, pitching 6 1-3 innings for Liberty-Eylau. He took a 3-hitter into the seventh, when the Tigers got three hits and a tying run off the right-handler.
Bellatti had four strikeouts, walked three and allowed six hits. Moore collected two outs in two batters faced to preserve the tie.
Luke Smith worked six innings for Texas High and took a no-decision. Smith allowed six hits, fanned seven, walked three and gave up two earned runs.
Sawyer Pritchard pitched the seventh for THS, giving up a run on two hits and a walk.
Trailing since the first inning and retired in order in 3 of 4 innings, the Tigers finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth.
Smith lined a single to center to start the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Nate Mennie tripled to deep center. Mennie scored on a wild pitch to the next batter, narrowly beating the tag to tie the score.
Liberty-Eylau loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but Smith picked up his seventh strikeout to strand all three and keep the score knotted at 2.
Texas High got a runner at third with one out and then had bases loaded with two down in the sixth, but Bellatti had a pair of strikeouts in the inning to strand three on.
The Leopards struck first, plating a pair of runs in the opening frame.
Brooks lined a hit to left to start the game, and Moore laid down a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Zach Brush also bunted for a hit, driving in the first run.
Braylon Blair’s single to left scored another run before a 4-6-3 double play ended the top of the first.
The Tigers went 3-up, 3 down in the first two innings, and in the top of the third Brooks doubled to right to start the inning. A sac bunt moved Battle, running for Brooks, to third, but a ground ball to shortstop Rian Cellers resulted in a tag out by catcher Jackson Halter for the second out.
Halter returned the favor when the L-E runner attempted to steal second, but the catcher threw a strike to Cellers, who easily applied the tag to end the inning.
In the bottom of the third, Mennie beat out an infield hit for Texas High, snapping a streak of seven consecutive outs by the Leopards to start the game.
Brooks was 3 for 4 with two doubles for the Leopards, and Moore and Blair each had two hits.
Mennie led the Tigers with a triple and double.
Longview 10, Arkansas High 2
The Razorbacks finally broke through against Lobo left-hander Landyn Grant to break up a no-hit bid in the fourth and then thwarted a shutout bid in the fifth.
However, Arkansas High was chasing Longview the entire game.
Trent Bush singled in the a run in the first for the Lobos, and Braden Nickel doubled how a pair with two outs to make it 3-0.
Bush bashed a 3-run home run in the third, and three more hits in the inning brought home a seventh run for Longview.
Grant faced one over the minimum through three innings, but Arkansas signee Braylon Bishop lined a single to left to lead off the fourth for the Hogs. After a double play erased the base runner, Jackson Harris drilled a double to deep left and moved up on a passed ball, but he was stranded at third.
Jackson Tye led off the fifth with a hit, and Darby Sawyer followed with a hit to left. Jaylen Betts walked to bring home the initial AHS run, and Grayson Martin’s sac fly made it 10-2.
Grant worked five innings, allowed four hits, struck out six and walked three for the win.
Longview 10, Liberty-Eylau 5
Gabe Flores powered the Lobo offense with a grand slam home run and two doubles, driving in five runs against L-E in the tournament opener.
Flores’ round-tripper in the second staked Longview to a 6-0 lead. He added an RBI double in the Lobos’ 4-run fourth inning.
Dylan Garten led the Leopards with a 2-for-3 game with 2 RBI. He had RBI hits in the second and third innings, the latter when Liberty-Eylau scored three to cut its deficit to 6-4. Gage Bellatti had an RBI double in the third for the Leopards, and Braylon Blair added a run-scoring hit in the frame.
Connor Cox delivered an RBI single in the first for Longview, and Trent Bush made it 2-0 with his triple.