District 4-4A
Combined no-hitter lifts first-place Randall over Pampa
There couldn’t be any more accurate a snapshot displaying why the Randall Raiders have stood atop the district since the beginning of last year than what happened Tuesday in Pampa to close out the first half of district play.
Using five pitchers on a windy day, Randall couldn’t shut out Pampa. But the Raiders didn’t give up a hit to the Harvesters and rode some early hitting to an 8-3 victory to remain unbeaten atop the district.
The formula has been just about perfect for No. 14 Randall (13-9, 7-0 in district) for the past year-and-a-half, as no 4-4A foe has found a way to bring down the Raiders. As has been the case since the beginning of 2023, Randall is alone atop the district to end the first half of 2024 until someone can do otherwise.
Randall jumped out to a 7-0 lead after four innings and looked set to cruise. Blaine Brannon had RBI doubles in the second and third innings to stake the Raiders to a 5-0 lead. Dylan Ray hit a solo home run to left center in the fourth to stretch the lead to 7-0.
The Raiders went with pitching by committee against Pampa (5-13, 1-6), as Derik Arenas and Gio Miranda each threw two scoreless, hitless innings to start the game. Brannon relieved in the fifth and didn’t give up a hit, but he walked four and wasn’t helped by two errors which led to three unearned runs which cut the lead to 7-3.
After Brannon walked Judsen Hancock to load the bases with two outs and bring the tying run to the plate, he was relieved by Justin Gallardo, who struck out Jack Dyer to end the inning. Gallardo and Carson Haffner combined over the last two innings to finish the no-hitter.
Canyon routs Perryton
Canyon stayed alone in second place in the district to close the first half of 4-4A, taking the lead for good in the bottom of the second and not letting up to beat Perryton 15-5 in a five-inning 10-run mercy rule win at Conner Park.
The game was tied at 1-1 in the second when Canyon (17-4-1, 6-1) scored five runs in the bottom of the inning for a 6-1 lead with Colt Cruth’s two-run double as the big blow. Perryton (7-16, 2-5) cut it to 6-4 in the top of the third, but the Eagles answered back with four runs for a 10-4 lead and the Rangers never got closer than five runs after that. Canyon scored three in the bottom of the fifth inning for the run rule.
Cruth led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-3 and driving in five runs.
West Plains rolls at Dumas
The Canyon ISD schools continued to occupy the top three district spots at the end of Tuesday, as West Plains won its fifth straight district game by beating Dumas 8-2 on the road. West Plains (18-5, 5-2) remains alone in third place in 4-4A.
With the score tied 2-2 after three innings, the Wolves scored two in the fourth and four in the fifth to take control of the game. Jaydan Gibson drove in three runs for West Plains, a Jonnie Gifford and Kaiden Dorman both had three hits.
Jeremiah Gutierrez and Micah Velasquez dominated Dumas (6-15, 2-5) on the mound, combining to give up only one hit over seven innings.
In the other 4-4A clash, Hereford downed Borger 5-2.
District 3-5A
Sandies take lead in 7th to beat PD, clinch playoff berth
The Amarillo High Sandies had to wait a bit, but when things were all over Wednesday afternoon, they were bound for the postseason.
In a game which had been postponed a day by Amarillo ISD, unbeaten district leader Amarillo High was tied with winless Palo Duro on the road after six innings. That ended, though, when pinch hitter Wyatt Purser hit a bases-loaded double to center with two outs, which scored three runs and lifted the Sandies to a 5-2 victory and clinched a district playoff spot, making Amarillo High (17-8, 7-0 in district) the first metro team to earn a playoff berth.
Palo Duro (3-18, 0-5) seemed poised to play spoiler. The Dons took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth and led 2-1 after the fifth an on RBI double by Jabrelyn Wilson.
Jimmy Escajeda drove in a run on a groundout in the top of the sixth, setting the stage for Purser’s big hit in the seventh.
Tate Blackwell pitched two innings of relief to pick up the win for the Sandies. Clayton Norrell pitched a perfect seventh inning for the save.
Caprock edges Tascosa
In a game where offense was hard to come by, Caprock scored in the bottom of the eighth on a catcher’s interference call which brought home the winning run for a 2-1 win over Tascosa.
The two teams had only four hits apiece in a game which was tied 1-1 after seven innings. Caprock (6-13, 2-5) tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Brayden Haire.
That’s the way it stayed until the eighth, when the Longhorns loaded the bases with Derek Paz at the plate. Paz reached base on catcher’s interference, allowing Isaac Delosreyes to score the winning run from third base.
The win made sure that Caprock starter Matthew Hulen’s strong effort on the mound didn’t go to waste. Hulen threw all eight innings, striking out nine and walking none.
District 1-3A
Bushland crushes Tulia
Bushland continued to show no mercy to district opponents Tuesday, as the Falcons scored nine runs in the top of the first and didn’t let up in rolling to a 28-2 run-rule victory over Tulia in five innings, their third straight 10-run win to open district play.
After scoring nine runs in the first, Bushland (16-2-1, 3-0), scored six in the second to go up 15-0 and make the run-rule possibility a mere formality. The Falcons pounded out 25 hits and took advantage of seven errors by Tulia (14-4, 1-2).
Jaxon Fetsch was 4-for-5 and drove in five runs and Breken Adams was 5-for-5 and drove in three runs. Seven Bushland batters had at least two hits and all the starters had at least one.
Friona beats River Road in slugfest
Offense took centerstage at Friona in a game resembling a football score, as Friona scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat River Road 27-23.
In a shocking turn of events, River Road (7-7, 0-3) took a 15-1 lead in the top of the third. However, Friona (3-9, 1-2) answered with 10 runs in the bottom of the inning to cut it to 15-11.
The Wildcats responded in the top of the fourth with eight runs to make it 23-11 but couldn’t score again. Meanwhile, Friona scored 16 unanswered runs to close out the game and get the win.
Friona had four players with at least two hits and/or three RBIs.
In another 1-3A game, Dimmitt took down Dalhart 9-8.
District 1-2A
Gruver outguns Sanford-Fritch
It was another day at the office for the Gruver Greyhounds as they took it to Sanford-Fritch 22-5 on Tuesday afternoon.
The Greyhounds (9-4 overall) are now 4-1 in District 1-2A. Fritch (5-9) drops to 2-4 in district.
Sutton Ward devastated Eagles pitching going 3-for-5 with three doubles to rack up three RBIs as well as scoring five runs. Ward also worked a 1.2 of relief on the hill without allowing a run with a pair of strikeouts.
In other district action, Booker survived Follett 4-3, and Sunray beat Boys Ranch 30-1.
District 2-2A
Clarendon and Wellington cruise
It was a busy Tuesday of District 2-2A action as Clarendon, Wellington got run-rule wins.
The Broncos stayed hot beating up on Memphis 24-1. Jared Musick drilled a grand slam and added a double to drive in a total of seven RBIs. Teammate Levi Gates also homered on a 4-for-5 day at the dish with four RBIs.
Clarendon stays on top of the district at 3-0 while improving to 10-1-2 overall. Memphis falls to 1-2 in the league.
Wellington took care of rival Shamrock notching a 13-2 victory. The Skyrockets move to 2-1 in District 1-2A and 3-3 overall. The Irish fall to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in district.
TJ Salinas worked five innings racking up 13 K’s while allowing only two earned runs. Jackson Jones gave Wellington a spark at the plate with a 2-for-2 outing inlcuding a homer and three RBIs.
On Monday, Nazareth handled Valley 14-3 for a district win. The Swifts Breck Proctor’s 2-for-2 performance with a double and finished the game with three RBIs.
The Swifts (5-3) are now 2-0 in district. Valley (0-5) is still looking for a league win dropping to 0-4.