It might have been a good omen for the Amarillo High Sandies that the weather warmed up as they returned home for a pair of District 3-5A games Friday and Saturday.
They showed they were warming up just in time.
After suffering their first 3-5A loss of the season at Lubbock Coronado on Tuesday, the Sandies got a pair of games at Sandie Field which put them back on the winning track. They beat Lubbock Coronado 8-1 on Friday to secure a series split and returned less than 24 hours later to stomp Plainview 14-5 on Saturday and end the week with a winning record.
In early returns, Amarillo High (18-3, 4-1 in district) is in about as good a position as expected, tied for second place in district approaching the one-third mark of the 3-5A schedule.
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“We definitely want to win them all, but to respond with two quality wins here with an opportunity to play back-to-back in this beautiful weather is big-time in the back half of the week,” AHS coach Randon Johnson said. “We stayed on the positive side in district.”
The week started on the rough side at Coronado. In a game where both teams hit the ball all over the place, Coronado rallied by knocking around four Amarillo High pitchers for six runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a 14-11 win and hand the Sandies their first district loss.
That made an already long bus ride home even longer, but the Sandies got back in town knowing they’d enjoy the comforts of home for two straight afternoons to end the week.
“There’s a lot of things going on,” Johnson said. “It’s spring break week and we’re a little bit out of our schedule. Coming back home I think helps a whole lot. Our guys play well here and have got a lot of confidence.”
Each of the last two games had a shaky inning for Amarillo High in the field, but the Sandies never trailed and finished both games by winning comfortably.
It didn’t hurt in the second inning against Plainview (7-12-1, 1-4) when the Sandies scored four runs thanks largely to some huge defensive miscues. AHS leadoff hitter Tate Blackwell scored what could be called a little league home run when Plainview second baseman Isaiah Medina dropped a pop-up in the shallow outfield, then wildly threw back into the infield and into the Amarillo High dugout. That allowed Blackwell to score.
The Sandies would then load the bases with two outs on a single and two hit batsmen by Plainview starter Zach Soliz, when Jayden Cedillo hit a fly ball to centerfield which Grayson McMillan appeared to drop in the sun, allowing all three runners to score and give the Sandies a 6-0 lead.
Cedillo took the mound for the Sandies in the top of the next inning, and five pitches later Plainview cut the lead to 6-2 on Seth Mayberry’s two-run homer to left. The Bulldogs got two more singles off Cedillo and an error helped another run score before Jacob Perez-Gonzalez hit a two run single to cut the lead to 6-5.
That was all the Bulldogs got, though. Cedillo recorded all but the final out of the game as his pitch count climbed to earn the win.
“The inning where Plainview scored (Cedillo) as in the zone and attacking with pitches that were swinging or called strikes,” Johnson said. “Sometimes maybe you have to step back and not be so good in the zone and understand when guys are feeling it a little bit, but it was a good job to be able to come back. It was a hot day and some things are working against you with the wind blowing out.”
The Sandies took advantage of a lack of control by Soliz, who hit five batters. They scored in all but one inning, with Austin Sluder’s two-run triple to left-center off reliever Mayberry extending the lead to 10-5 in the fifth and giving the Sandies s comfortable cushion.
In the sixth, Talon Jones hit a bases-loaded double to left-center to put the game away and conclude the scoring.
Sluder was 3-for-3 and scored two runs and Jones had two hits and drove in four runs. Blackwell and Dillon Grider both scored three runs.
Friday’s win to earn the split with Coronado (10-10, 2-3) was actually even less suspenseful. The Sandies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, capped by Blackwell’s two-run double.
That was more than enough support for sophomore right-hander Taegen Tate, who in six innings struck out eight and gave up only a fourth-inning single to Campbell Stanek in not allowing a runner past second base.
“When we went to Lubbock earlier in the week we scored 11 runs and found a way to not win a game, so we came back over here and still got production from the plate, but with (Tate) on the mound that helped us run away a little bit,” Johnson said. “We love the offense and we like to go up there and have a good approach, but when we put that together with pitching and defense, all of a sudden this team gets pretty hard to beat.”
Amarillo High reliever Sergio Valencia gave up an unearned run in the seventh for the only blemish on the pitching ledger Friday.
District quick hits
Tascosa’s Molloy picks up milestone win
Second-year Tascosa coach Yancy Molloy reached a career milestone earlier in the week in a 3-5A crosstown matchup.
Tascosa beat Caprock 15-5 on Monday, giving Molloy his 100th career win as a head coach. Prior to taking over for Jason Patrick at Tascosa, Molloy coached at Memphis.
West Plains stays unbeaten atop 4-4A
In the biggest game in District 4-4A last week, West Plains stamped its spot atop the district by beating neighbor Randall 10-3 on Tuesday and remained unbeaten and in sole possession of first place.
After Randall scored three runs in the top of the first, West Plains (15-5, 4-0 in district) took over from there. The Wolves took the lead for good with six runs in the bottom of the third, as Noah Vasquez gave them the lead for good with a three-run double.
West Plains stayed unbeaten in district by beating Dumas 12-4 on Friday, keeping the Wolves a full game ahead of Canyon ISD rivals Randall and Canyon as well as Hereford atop the district standings.
THIS PAST WEEK’S SCORES
District 3-5A
Tuesday’s games
Tascosa 15, Caprock 5
Lubbock Coronado 14, Amarillo High 11
Lubbock Cooper 15, Palo Duro 0
Lubbock Monterey 9, Plainview 6
Friday’s games
Caprock 8, Tascosa 5
Amarillo High 8, Coronado 1
Cooper 10, Palo Duro 0
Monterey 6, Plainview 1
Saturday’s games
Amarillo High 14, Plainview 5
Tascosa 13, Lubbock High 10
Monterey 14, Caprock 1
Cooper 4, Coronado 0
District 4-4A
Tuesday’s games
West Plains 10, Randall 3
Canyon 8, Dumas 1
Pampa 5, Perryton 4
Hereford 3, Borger 0
Friday’s games
West Plains 12, Dumas 4
Randall 7, Pampa 4
Canyon 7, Borger 2
Hereford 8, Perryton 3
District 1-3A
Tuesday’s games
Bushland 17, Childress 1
Tulia 6, Dalhart 5
Friday’s games
Bushland 16, Dalhart 2
Childress 13, River Road 8