The Sandies fell behind by four runs heading into the bottom of the second inning against crosstown rival Tascosa on Tuesday afternoon at Sandie Field. However, they scored 11 unanswered runs over the next two innings to show Tascosa – and everybody else in the district – who was in control, as they cruised to an 11-4 victory to stay unbeaten in 3-5A.
Amarillo High (19-8, 9-0 in district) has had a cast-iron grip atop the district since the beginning and the Sandies were the first team to clinch a playoff berth. With one more win in the final three games, AHS will win the district championship and clinch the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
This was the second meeting this season between the Sandies and Tascosa (8-17, 5-6), who has also clinched a playoff berth. The first time they met was at Hodgetown in the first round of district play, with Amarillo High rolling to a 10-0 win.
In that game, Amarillo High starter Payne Williams was nearly perfect, pitching a one-hit shutout. Williams got the call on the mound again in the second meeting, but the results this time weren’t quite the same.
After the first four Tascosa hitters were retired, Williams ran into trouble. He walked Coltyn Fulton, who eventually scored on a single by Sam Adams for a 1-0 lead.
It was all Sandies after that, though.
Their first six batters reached base against Tascosa starter Holden True in the third, aided by two errors. Max McLemore hit an RBI double to left and scored the tying run on Will Flaming’s single to right. An RBi groundout by Colton Flores eventually drove in McLemore with the go-ahead run, and Clayton Norrell’s RBI double eventually knocked out True.
By the time the inning was over, Amarillo High led 7-4.
The Sandies added four more in the fourth, with McLemore collecting another big hit with an RBI triple.
Tate Blackwell had a solid relief outing to pick up the win for the Sandies. He threw three scoreless innings and gave up two hits.
While the playoff order isn’t quite set for 3-5A, the teams are. Plainview beat Palo Duro 15-5 to eliminate the Dons (3-22, 0-9). That means Plainview (12-14, 6-3) is headed for the postseason while Caprock (8-14, 4-6), which is open this week, also makes the playoffs.
District 4-4A
Randall scores another shutout to clinch title
It was as representative a snapshot as could be captured of the Randall Raiders, and a perfect example of why they’re district champions again.
Randall continued to shut down district rivals at home, as the Raiders clinched the outright district title by blanking Hereford 7-0 to stay unbeaten atop 4-4A and win their third straight district crown. The Raiders are now 17-9 and 11-0.
Most staggering, Randall hasn’t allowed an earned run over the last 58 innings of district play and a run of any kind over the last 33 innings.
Against Hereford (16-8, 6-5, Brae Silva did the honors at starter, throwing five shutout innings while allowing only two hits. Derik Arenas and Carson Haffner both threw hitless innings in relief.
The Raiders got all the offense they needed on Kaison Benton’s two-run single in the bottom of the second which helped Randall take a 3-0 lead. Benton and Hagen Shedd both had two hits for the Raiders.
West Plains routs Perryton to clinch berth
West Plains joined fellow Canyon ISD rival Randall in the playoffs, as the Wolves punched their postseason ticket by beating Perryton 13-1 at home in a five-inning 10-run mercy rule win.
The Wolves (21-6, 8-3) were in control from the start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and never looking back. They clinched the run-rule margin with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Leadoff hitter Bradley Cepeda set the table by going 3-for-3 and scoring three runs. Ethan Bentley had three hits and drove in two runs while Jonnie Gifford and Jeremiah Gutierrez both drove in two runs.
Gutierrez pitched four innings for the win, as Perryton fell to 10-17 and 5-6.
Canyon blanks Pampa
The CISD teams continued to dominate the rest of the district, as Canyon hosted Pampa and rolled to a 6-0 win to stay tied for second in the district.
Canyon (19-6-1, 8-3) got all the offense it needed in the second inning on an RBI double by Rece Davis for a 1-0 lead. The Eagles scored five runs in the third, as Zabien Urteaga had a three-run double for the big blow.
Colt Cruth pitched the first four innings and gave up one hit for the win. Noah Sanchez, Urteaga and Bayler Schilling each threw a hitless inning apiece for the Eagles.
Pampa fell to 6-16 and 2-9.
In other district action, Dumas downed Pampa 6-5.
District 1-3A
Bushland routs Friona
Bushland continued to beat up on the rest of the district as the Falcons scored six runs in the first inning and didn’t stop until beating Friona 21-0 in a five-inning run-rule decision on the road.
The Falcons (20-2-1, 7-0) had already clinched a playoff berth but still played as if they had something to prove. They jumped on Friona (3-12, 1-5) in the first inning as Dawson Jaco’s two-run double was the big hit.
Jaco drove in four runs for Bushland while Breken Adams and Noah Krause drove in three apiece. Ty Purcell and Stratton Molloy combined to give up only one hit.
In the districts other games, Dimmitt blanked River Road 4-0 and Tulia knocked off Dalhart 7-3.
District 1-2A
Sunray downs Sanford-FritchÂ
The Sunray Bobcats continued their march to stay atop the league standings by handling Sanford-Fritch 13-4 on Tuesday.
Infielder Luke Grajeda dominated Eagles pitching going 3-for-4 inlcuding a triple with three RBIs and two runs scored. Teammate Ivan Delarosa was clutch as well going 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.
The Bobcats (13-4) improve to 9-1 in District 1-2A. Fritch (6-11) falls to 3-6 in district.
In other action, Follett beat Boys Ranch 18-7 on Monday and Booker defeated West Texas High 8-6 on Wednesday.
District 2-2A
Clarendon claims another W
It was another day at the office for the Clarendon Broncos getting a lopsided 17-3 win over rival Wellington on Tuesday.
The Broncos (12-1-2) stay all alone in first place of District 2-2A at 5-0. Wellington (4-4) drops to 3-2 in the league.
Harrison Howard was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. Easton Frausto complimented Howard with a 2-for-2 outing at the dish with a homer of his own and two RBIs with four runs scored.
In another game played on Wednesday, Memphis beat Shamrock 7-6.