Amarillo High completely shuts down El Dorado in sweep

In two games of the Class 5A Division I area round playoff series against El Paso El Dorado, the Amarillo High Sandies gave up plenty of nothing.

The Sandies continued their stingy ways on the mound by throwing a pair of shutouts at Odessa High to advance. Amarillo High blanked El Dorado 8-0 on Thursday, then won 4-0 on Friday to complete a sweep of the best-of-three series.

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Next up for Amarillo High (26-13-1) in the region semifinals next week is Aledo, who advanced by sweeping Fort Worth Arlington Heights. The dates and locations for the series had yet to be determined.

Whatever success the Sandies have had in then postseason has been established by their pitching, which El Dorado (16-17) found out the hard way. The Aztecs managed no runs and only four hits over 14 innings against Amarillo High.

Left-hander Clayton Norrell set the tone on the hill in the first game for the Sandies, the way he has all season. Norrell gave up only three singles in a complete-game win.

The Sandies got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the fourth when Oliver Parsons got them on the board with a sacrifice fly. They added two in the fifth and four in the sixth for some unneeded insurance.

Parsons and Jimmy Escajeda both drove in two runs for the Sandies.

In the second game, the Sandies had a 3-0 lead before starter Taegen Tate even took the mound. Mello Castillo led off the game with a single and scored on Austin Sluder’s triple with two more runs scored on an error and a groundout.

That was more than enough support for the right-hander Tate, who gave up only one hit in five innings for the win. Jayden Cedillo pitched two scoreless innings to close it.

Class 4A

West Plains rolls over Mountain View

The West Plains Wolves kept rolling with their third straight dominant win to advance, sweeping Clint Mountain View in a pair of lopsided wins at Seminole during the UIL Class 4A area round.

West Plains routed Mountain View 12-1 in the first game Thursday, then won the second game 16-0 in a 10-run, five-inning mercy rule victory to complete the series sweep. Going back to their series win over Andrews in bidistrict, the Wolves (27-6-1) have won their last three games by at least 10 runs each.

The Wolves will face Mineral Wells in a one-game playoff in next week’s region semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday in Colorado City.

West Plains wasted no time in the first game, scoring three runs in the top of the first en route to never trailing in the series. Jesse Flores led off the game with a double and scored on Ethan Bentley’s single. Reid Macon capped the inning with a two-run single.

Will Grisham didn’t need any more support, as he threw six shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out six while walking none.

Macon led the 14-hit attack by going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs. Bentley and Brody Bobo both drove in two runs.

The second game was even more decisive, as West Plains took control of the game with a whopping 13 runs in the bottom of the second to all but assure an early end to the series. Two runs scored on an error to open the scoring, but the biggest key in precipitating the rout as that the Wolves scored nine runs with two outs, as they started the uprising with five straight hits. 

Flores had the big hit of the inning with a three-run triple. Ironically, he was the only West Plains hitter who had multiple hits and drove in four runs.

Randall swept by Clint

Some tough late innings spelled doom for Randall, as the Raiders were swept by Clint atr Seminole to see their season end Saturday in the Class 4A Division II area round.

Clint scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to break the tie and win the first game 5-2, then tied the second game with three runs in the top of the sixth and scored two in the eighth to win the second game 8-6. Randall finished the season 20-11-1.

The Raiders had a tough time hitting the ball in the first game and trailed 2-0 heading into the sixth. However, RBI singles by Dylan Ray and Adam Trevino tied the game 2-2.

That didn’t hold up in the bottom of the inning though. Clint (19-11-1) scored the go-ahead run on passed ball and two more on an error for the winning margin.

The Raiders took their first lead of the series with four runs in the bottom of the fifth in game two. Breken Melton drove in a run with a double and Trevino capped the inning with an RBI single to give Randall a 6-3 lead.

That didn’t last through the next inning, as Clint’s Mario Aguirre hit a three-run double off Randall starter Brae SIlva to tie it 6-6.

Clint started the eighth with three straight hits off reliever Trevino. Oliver Chavez singled and scored on a double by Aguirre, who then scored on Daniel Ochoa’s single to make it 8-6.

The Raiders loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Collin Miller popped up to shortstop to end it.

Pampa falls in three games to El Paso Riverside

The Pampa Harvesters forced a third game against El Paso Riverside on Friday at Andrews, but came up short during a Class 4A Division II area round series.

After losing the first game 4-3 on Thursday, Pampa rallied for a 5-2-win Friday to tie the series. The final game wasn’t nearly as competitive, though, as Riverside rolled to a 12-4 victory to clinch the series.

Pampa finished the season 17-14-1.

The Harvesters jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of the first game, scoring two runs in the second thanks to a wild pitch and an error. That was all they got though, as they managed only four hits.

Riverside (19-13-1) tied the game in the fourth then won in the top of the seventh by taking the lead on a passed ball.

In the second game, Pampa took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the third to go up 3-1. Two of the runs were walked home.

Pampa scored first in the third game to take a 1-0 lead after one inning, but Riverside answered with 10 straight runs to take control and eventually clinch the series.

Nazareth rolls over Booker

The Nazareth Swifts are headed to the UIL Class 1A regional semifinals for a fifth straight year after handling Booker in a two-game sweep during the area round Thursday and Friday.

The Swifts blasted Booker in the series opener 12-2 in Littlefield, then completed the sweep with an 11-0 shutout in Stinnett on Friday.

Nazareth (18-2) will now meet up with O’Donnell (14-4-1) in the regional semifinals at a time and place to be determined.

Booker ends a strong year at 12-6.

In Thursday’s opener, Breck Proctor went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and tossed six innings without allowing an earned run racking up seven strikeouts. On Friday, Zane Schulte held Booker off the board throwing five shutout innings with seven K’s. Proctor was huge at the dish once again going 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

Area round quick hits

Childress won its series opener 13-3 against Lamesa only to see the Tornadoes rally back for a 6-5 win in 11 innings followed by an 8-6 victory to claim the UIL Class 3A Division I area championship Saturday. The Bobcats end the year at 14-13-1.

Besides Gruver, it wasn’t the best weekend for Texas Panhandle Class 2A schools. Sunray saw its season come to an end at the hands of New Deal in the Division I area round. The Lions roared past the Bobcats thanks to a 12-0 blanking and a 14-2 victory. Sunray finishes its season at 14-5.

Wellington didn’t have enough firepower with a very good New Home team. The Leopards dominated behind two shutouts, 18-0 in Game 1, and a 10-0 blanking to close the series. Wellington ends its year at 12-7.

West Texas High fell to Ropes during a two-game sweep. The Eagles picked up a pair of shutouts opening the series with an 11-0 win followed by a 3-0 blanking. The Comanches finish the year at 9-13.