Pirates bounce back to sail past Martin’s Mill

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas—Saturday was a day Bailey Obenoskey is not likely to forget anytime soon.

James Bowie’s freshman pitcher had a hand in both decisions as the Pirates rallied from a game down to sweep Martin’s Mill, 11-6 and 6-4, at Chapel Hill High School, advancing to next week’s Region II-2A baseball quarterfinals.

Obenoskey, right-hander, went the distance in the opener, then saved the nightcap for starter Kolby Clark

with three innings of one-run relief.

Clark, the starter and loser in Thursday’s best-of-three series opener, came back on short rest and left with the game tied at 3-3. But a three-run fifth inning off first-game winner Marshall Davis made him a winner with the help of Obenoskey.

“My plan was to let Kolby go as far as he could, but he had already gone through their lineup twice and the top of the order was coming up,” Pirates coach Charlie Downs said. “They were getting some good swings, and I felt it was time to get him out. I was going to end up being either smart or dumb, but it worked out.”

It worked out because Obenoskey still had enough left to subdue the Mustangs.

“Bailey is a gamer. He’s a freshman, and I didn’t want to do anything that might hurt his arm, but he said he was good and thought he could throw strikes,” Downs said. “He’s always honest with me about how he feels. If he didn’t think he could go he would have told me.”

Downs said the best-of-three series with Harleton is tentatively set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week at Hughes Springs.

James Bowie 11, Martin’s Mill 5

Obenoskey pitched his second complete game of the year in the opener and was backed by plenty of offense as the Pirates forced a Game 3.

James Bowie had a pair of four-run innings with Mustangs pitching contributing to the rallies. For the game five Martin’s Mill pitchers issued seven walks and threw as many wild pitches.

The Pirates batted around in the first inning, Dillon Smith doubling home a run, and Caige Croley and Cody Roberson delivering RBI singles. Martin’s Mill starter Drew Ingram lasted only a third of an inning before Kade Roberts came on to get the final two outs.

Obenoskey, who struck out eight, walked three and hit a batter, had a sacrifice fly in a two-run second inning, but the Mustangs came back with two of their own in the bottom of the third.

But the Pirates pulled away with four more in the top of the fourth. Singles by Logan Graham and Blake Smith was followed by a throwing error by the pitcher on a potential-double play grounder. Dillon Smith scored another run with a sacrifice fly, and Obenoskey scored on Croley’s single after he (Obenoskey) singled and stole second.

James Bowie added to its 10-2 lead with a single run in the sixth. Jim Lawing and Cody Roberson singled, and Lawing scored on a wild pitch after stealing third base.

Kyler Miller’s long home run to left center made it 11-3 in the bottom of the sixth, and Austin Sparks doubled home two more in the seventh before Obenoskey picked up his eighth strikeout to end the game.

Blake Smith had three of JB’s 13 hits. Dillon Smith doubled and singled, and Croley and Roberson added two hits each. Marshall Davis and Bailey Moon had two hits for Martin’s Mill.

James Bowie 6, Martin’s Mill 4

The strategy by Martin’s Mill coaches was similar to that of James Bowie, but Davis obviously was not the same pitcher he was on Thursday.

He came on in relief of starter Zant Perkins in the fifth, and was victimized by his defense after striking out the leadoff batter. James Bowie had only one hit—a single by Dylan Trissell—in the inning, but three walks, two errors and a passed ball allowed the Pirates to score three runs.

Obenoskey hit the first batter he faced in the bottom of the inning, and he eventually scored on an RBI single by Austin Sparks. But that was it for the Mustangs (14-5) as Obenoskey settled down to strike out six batters over his three innings, pitching around his own throwing error in the seventh.

The Pirates (11-5) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third after two outs. Dillon Smith doubled down the left-field line and scored on Obenoskey’s single to left. Croley followed with an infield hit, and after both runners advanced on a wild pitch, Lawing cracked a two-run single.

Clark, who fanned two, walked one and hit a batter, blanked the Mustangs the first two innings, but yielded three runs in the bottom of the third on two hits, including a run-scoring double by Miller.

“It’s been a long series,” Downs said. “With all the bad weather and location changes I didn’t know how to read our guys. But they were ready to go. We scrapped and clawed, and my hats are off to them.”

Lawing was 2 for 2 with a pair of RBIs to lead James Bowie’s nine-hit attack in the second game. Obenoskey also had two hits.