Sloppy Longhorns open door for Oilers
RICHMOND — It’s the wrong time for a slump.
George Ranch, the state’s No. 1 Class 6A team entering the week, struggled for the second straight game and again paid for it.
But for Pearland, it’s the right time to make a move.
The Oilers jumped on the home team early, then took advantage of their mistakes for a five-run sixth, giving them an 8-3 win Friday night at George Ranch that left Pearland with a half-game lead in District 23-6A.
Pearland (17-11, 9-2) has won seven straight since losing 11-4 to George Ranch on March 28.
“That’s something that we’ve been pretty good at the last few years — getting hot late,” Pearland coach Anthony Scalise said. “This puts us in good position to potentially be co-district champions with them, so it’s a huge win for our kids. We’re a really, really young team this year.
“We’ve had a bunch of ups and downs, some bumps in the road, but our kids have grown up tremendously in the second half of district.”
The Longhorns (23-3, 8-2) are slowing down.
They were perfect in district before a 4-1 loss to Brazoswood on Tuesday, when they had almost as many errors as hits. Friday, they did — racking up five errors with only four hits.
“It’s not a good time to be in a bad patch, and that’s what this is, so we’re going to have to regroup and get our heads back on straight,” George Ranch coach Greg Kobza said.
The Longhorns seemed to regroup after a slow offensive start in the rematch with Pearland, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie it 3-3 on a run-scoring double by Dylan Rock (3-for-3, triple, walk) in the fifth.
But then the Longhorns fell apart defensively, with four errors in the bottom of the inning.
Pearland sent 11 men to the plate and scored five runs with only one RBI on Jacob Whitehead’s single.
“One thing we’ve been good at in the past is putting the ball (in play),” Scalise said.
Pearland finished with seven hits.
Mason Lytle went 2-for3 with two runs scored, and Parker DeLeon, Aeneas Enriquez and John Thomas each had an RBI.
Oilers starter Matt Adams went 41⁄3 innings, with three strikeouts and three runs allowed, before exiting with no decision. Enriquez picked up the win in relief.
Bradley Armstrong took the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits with four strikeouts in 51⁄3 innings.
“The kids battled,” Kobza said. “We had a rough beginning there, then came back, tied it, and then the wheels fell off after that.
“When you make (five) errors and you don’t hit the ball well, that’s not good.”