District 4-4A
In different fashions, the two Canyon ISD teams at the top of the district standings stayed there at the end of the day, as Canyon and West Plains finished the first half of district play tied for the lead.
Canyon needed a little drama at Hereford, as the Eagles fell behind by three runs before taking control of the game with six runs in the sixth. They had to hold off a Hereford rally in the bottom of the seventh, though, to pull out a 9-7 win.
West Plains didn’t have nearly as tough a time on the road against Pampa. The Wolves took the lead early and weren’t seriously threatened, as they cruised to a 12-2 six-inning 10-run mercy rule win.
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Canyon (18-3, 6-1 in district) fell behind 3-1 in the bottom of the third as Hereford’s Tell Bryant hit a two-run double. The Eagles trailed 4-3 before erupting offensively in the top of the sixth.
After Jacob Burris tied the game with an RBI single, Zabien Urteaga gave the Eagles the lead for good with a two-run single to make it 6-4. Carson Allen followed that with a two-run triple and by the end of the frame Canyon led 9-4.
However, Hereford (12-8-1, 4-3) wasn’t done. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Izak Dominguez hit a two-run double to left off Canyon reliever Brixton Lindley to cut it to 9-7.
Bayler Schilling came in for Canyon and got Noah Zamora to ground out to first to end the game.
Urteaga had two hits and drove in three runs for Canyon. Allen and Beau Boehning had three hits and drove in two runs.
West Plains (16-5-1, 6-1) never trailed against Pampa (10-8-1, 3-4). The Wolves took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and stretched the lead to 7-0 in the third thanks in part to three unearned runs.
Noah Vasquez hit a two-run single in the top of the fifth to give West Plains a 10-0 lead and the Wolves were three outs from invoking the run rule. However, the Harvesters scored a run on an error with two outs to keep the game alive.
It was only for one more inning though, West Plains scored twice in the sixth and allowed another unearned run in the bottom of the inning before ending the game early.
Vasquez, Jesse Flores and Kaden Hooker all drove in two runs for the Wolves. Will Grisham picked up the win by going four shutout innings and allowing only two hits.
Randall stayed tied for third by beating Borger 13-3. The Raiders (14-7-1, 4-3) were helped out by eight Borger errors as Brekken Ireland drove in three runs. Teammate Breken Melton was 2-for-5 with a home run and a double.
District 4-4A scores
Canyon 9, Hereford 7
West Plains 12, Pampa 2
Randall 13, Borger 3
Perryton 10, Dumas 3
District 1-3A
In what might have been the most shocking development of the week thus far, Bushland suffered its first loss in district play Monday, as the Falcons couldn’t hold on to a lead heading into the seventh and fell to Dalhart 6-5.
Even with the loss, Bushland remains on top of the district at 10-9 and 5-1.
The Falcons fell behind 3-2, but scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to go up 5-3, and had only three outs to go to stay unbeaten. Dalhart (6-8, 3-2), though, had other ideas.
With one out, Bushland scored on an error to cut the lead to 5-4. Bushland starter Elliott Hemphill was relieved by Dawson Lanham, who then had a runner score on a passed ball to tie it 5-5.
Lincoln Krause eventually relieved Lanham with the bases loaded, and walked Braxton Akin to force in a run and give the Wolves a 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Dalhart reliever Kevin Rios issued a two-out walk to Colton Reynolds but got Landon Howell to ground out to end the game. Rios drove in two runs.
Tulia was able to double up Childress 16-8 in the other 1-3A game. The Hornets are now 13-4-1 and 3-3 in the league. Gustavo Trevino was 3-for-4 driving in two runs and pitched two innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts.
District 3-5A
The Amarillo High Sandies opened the second half of District 3-5A play Tuesday evening by showing the Lubbock High Westerners why they were on top the first half.
After giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh, Amarillo High’s bats woke up at the perfect time, scoring seven runs in the top of the sixth en route to rolling to a 9-1 win at Westerner Field. With the win, the Sandies are now 15-7-1 and 8-1 in district, where they lead by a game-and-a-half.
AHS and Lubbock (14-6-1, 5-2) were locked in a scoreless duel for 4 ½ innings before the Westerners broke through with a run off Taegen Tate for a 1-0 lead. That was all Tate gave up, though, as he gave up only three hits and struck out nine in a complete-game victory.
The Sandies barely trailed, as they took over the game in the sixth. Gabe Ortiz tied the game with an RBI single, then Jimmy Escajeda gave Amarillo High the lead for good with a two-run single. Oliver Parsons capped the inning with a two-run single, giving Tate more than enough cushion.
The Tascosa Rebels took the lead at home with a huge second inning, then held on to beat Lubbock Monterey 8-7 and move into a tie for third in the district.
Tascosa (12-5, 5-2) trailed Monterey 4-1 going into the bottom of the second before erupting for seven runs and an 8-4 lead. Sam Ramirez struck the big blow with a three-run triple to give the Rebels a 5-4 lead, and Charlie McKinney capped the inning with a two-run home run to center.
That’s the way it stayed until the top of the sixth, when the Plainsmen came back for three runs. However, Zayden Brewer came on in relief and slammed the door, going 1 2/3 innings to earn the save for the winner, McKinney.
In other district games involving Amarillo ISD teams, Palo Duro and Caprock both remained winless in district play. Palo Duro lost to Plainview 3-0 and Caprock fell hard to Lubbock-Cooper 15-0
District 1-2A
Sunray opened the district schedule getting a 9-6 victory against West Texas High on a windy Tuesday night.
The Bobcats picked up three hits from Luke Grajeda and pitcher Parker Johnson earned the victory. Sunray is now 8-1 overall and 1-0 in league action.
Gruver stayed unbeaten after a doubleheader sweep of Sanford-Fritch on Monday. The Greyhounds held off the Eagles for a 14-9 in the opening game and then dominated the night cap with an 11-1 run-rule victory.
Briggs Satterfield was a combined 5-for-8 with a pair of RBIs. He also worked five innings of the second game with seven strikeouts. The Greyhounds are a perfect 9-0 on the year and 4-0 in District 1-2A. Fritch is now 9-5 and 1-3.
In two other district matchups, Booker dominated Boys Ranch 11-2 and Follett run-ruled White Deer 15-2.
District 2-2A
In one of the better games Tuesday and a matchup of two of the better teams in District 2-2A, Wellington picked up two late runs get a thrilling 11-9 road win in 10 innings on Tuesday.
With the game tied, 9-9, heading into the top of the 10th when the Skyrockets were able to break open the contest with two runs and hold on for the win. TJ Salinas was 2-for-5 with two RBIs for Wellington. Teammate Jax Heflin was 2-for-5 with a double driving in two runs. Clarendon’s Mason Allred did go 2-for-4 with a homer driving in a pair of runs while scoring three times.
Wellington is now 5-5 on the year and 3-1 in district. The Broncos (6-8) suffer their first league loss falling to 3-1.
In District 3-2A, Nazareth blasted Crosbyton 17-0 on Monday. The Swifts were led by Fletcher Schacher’s 3-for-4 day at the dish that included a double and a triple for a total of three RBIs. Reid Backus was also 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Nazareth improves to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in district.