Amarillo High’s Cannon Davis slides in safely to home plate during a game against Perryton in the Randy Keller Tournament at Hodgetown on Thursday night. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
This year could be looked at as a reset for the Amarillo Sandies baseball team after losing several players who were key cogs in last year’s roll to a Class 5A state semifinal berth.
But indications after three games at Amarillo ISD’s Randy Keller Memorial Baseball Tournament are that all parts are in working order just in time for the start of District 3-5A play this next week.
Amarillo High scored three convincing wins at the Keller, each one more dominant than the last. The Sandies opened action Thursday by beating Perryton 7-0, then scored a pair of 10-run mercy rule victories Saturday, beating Dumas 15-5 and concluding the day by thumping Canyon 19-5 at Sandie Field in five innings.
Thanks to inclement weather Friday, that day was skipped in the tournament schedule, abbreviating the number of games. But the Sandies (7-4) made the most of it as anybody.
“Seeing that we’re coming into district right here and we’re playing three games in Amarillo, it’s big that we’re able to come out and score some runs and do some really good things on the mound,” AHS coach Randon Johnson said. “I feel good about where we’re at coming into district at the end of next week.”
Canyon (5-5) got the upper hand in the top of the first when starting pitcher Ben Black doubled off AHS freshman Clayton Norrell and Sam Johnson later had an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. The Eagles got four runs in the top of the fifth, capped by Javin Cash’s two-run single.
In between those Canyon highlights, though, it was all Amarillo High with 19 unanswered runs. The Sandies took a 5-1 lead off Black in the bottom of the first, starting with Will Franklin’s RBI single to, left, which was misplayed into three runs as Franklin came around to score.
Later in the inning, Cannan Davis hit a two-run inside the park home run to make it 5-1, and all the momentum was Amarillo High’s. Franklin hit a three-run homer in the second to make it 9-1 and a run rule win seemed imminent.
Amarillo High had 14 hits, as Davis finished a single short of hitting for the cycle in the abbreviated game.
“These guys have really started to develop at the plate,” Johnson said. “I thought they were really good with two strikes today. A lot of guys understand the conditions with the wind blowing straight out of the west.”
Despite the lopsided loss, Canyon coach John Doan remained optimistic.
“We are a good baseball team,” Doan said. “We ran into a team that was extremely hot at the plate today. We threw some strikes and tried to challenge them the best that we could, but they swung the bat extremely well.”
Thursday’s Games
Amarillo High 7, Perryton 0
Dumas 3, Tascosa 1
Saturday’s Games
Tascosa 15, Perryton 14
Canyon 6, Caprock 1
Amarillo High 15, Dumas 5
Palo Duro 5, Perryton 5
Amarillo High 19, Canyon 5
Caprock 5, Dumas 4
