After narrowly missing regional sweep, Wister fights through finale
Wister’s baseball team came up short in a comeback attempt on Saturday to sweep its Class 2A regional at home and had to return to its field for an additional final-round game against Calera on Monday.
See poteaudailynews. com and Thursday’s issue for Monday’s result.
Here’s a look at what transpired during the weekend in the regional.
Saturday
Calera 12, Panama 0
Tustin Timms had the only hit for Panama (1312) while Luke McNamara and Dylan Restine walked.
Calera 7, Wister 6
The Wildcats (26-6) rallied late, but did not conjure enough offense in the final frame.
Three runs in the first inning and four in the fourth by Calera put Wister in a 7-0 hole.
Dartyn Meeks stepped to the mound with no outs in the fourth and — after allowing three inherited runners to score on a hit by pitch and a single — scattered a hit and two walks while throwing five strikeouts before head coach Ryan Tucker pulled him after 49 pitches and 3.1 relief innings to keep him available for possible Monday pitching duty.
Wister came alive offensively with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Riley Crane hit a runscoring single in the sixth.
Meeks hit a two-run double and scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh before a groundout and a flyout ended it.
Meeks went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in.
Crane had a hit and two walks. C.J. Halford had a hit and a walk.
Friday
Wister 10, Calera 0 After Wister edged Howe 4-3 in the opener, Landon Donaho pitched a five-inning no-hitter against the Bulldogs, throwing three strikeouts while allowing three walks.
Donaho only allowed Calera to get four knocks in the air while forcing seven groundouts, including a fifth-inning double play. Donaho threw 74 strikes.
At the plate, he walked twice and drove in a run.
Halford had a hit and three RBIs. Tucker Wooten had a hit, a walk and two RBIs. Connar Hall was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
Panama 16, Howe 1 The Razorbacks denied the Lions (13-17) an opportunity to rally back to
state a year after Howe beat Panama in their regional final.
Panama used Restine for an inning, Tyler Simkins for two innings and Caleb Brewer for two in holding Howe to six hits. and four walks.
Meanwhile, Panama held still in the batter’s box while drawing 14 walks and having two batters hit by pitches.
Panama led 14-0 by the third inning. Panama turned a double play in the fifth inning.
Simkins had two of Panama’s five hits while also taking a walk. Restine was issued four free passes. Tyson Covey had two walks and two RBIs.
Braxton Biernacki hit a three-run double in the third inning. McNamara had a hit, a walk and an RBI.
For Howe, Ky Lynn went 2-for-3 while Andrew Covey had two walks.