Randall posts another shutout over Canyon, clinches playoff spot
The Randall Raiders are on a string of being about nothing in District 4-4A which rivals that of any “Seinfeld” marathon.
But it’s really about everything, which explains why the Raiders are once again on the cusp of another district championship and leaving their opponents nothing.
No. 10 Randall hosted No. 23 Canyon in the latest showdown between the two longtime Canyon ISD rivals Friday afternoon.
At the end of the day, it was another close game as expected, but the Eagles got nothing against the Raiders, as Randall left-hander Gio Miranda threw a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 victory which clinched a playoff berth for the Raiders.
Winning a third straight district championship seems like a formality for Randall (16-9, 10-0 in district), needing only one victory in the final four games to clinch the 4-4A crown. Miranda’s two-hitter was merely the latest pitching gem for the Raiders, who now haven’t allowed a run in 26 innings or an earned run in a staggering 51.
That came in the first meeting of the season against Canyon (18-6-1, 7-3), a 3-2 Randall win. There still might be a question as to how this team stacks up against last year’s Our state semifinalists, but this year’s pitching staff puts the Raiders in the conversation for a long postseason run.
“Our starting pitching since we started district play has been lights out and I’ve said it all along,” first-year Randall coach Brad Propst said. “I knew during predistrict and tournament season that starting pitching was one of our strengths. I’m proud of our guys for competing up on the mound and throwing the ball over the plate.”
This game didn’t quite have the drama of the first meeting between the two teams or Randall’s 2-0 10-inning win over West Plains on Tuesday, when the Raiders won thanks to a pair of unearned runs. Miranda and Canyon right-hander Christian McGuire were both on top of their games and made the opposing lineups seem nonexistent.
The closest to an offensive explosion came for Randall with two outs in the third, after Kaison Benton reached on a fielder’s choice, Carson Haffner walked and Ty Hoelting singled to center to load the bases against McGuire. Dylan Ray grounded to second on the first pitch he saw to drive home Benton.
That was it for the game’s offense, and that was all Miranda needed.
“It’s all in the game and you just have fun, especially when these guys make defensive plays like that, you have nothing to worry about,” Miranda said. “You just go out and throw strikes and let the defense work. They executed it perfectly. I just wanted to go right at (Canyon) and let the defense work.”
Miranda wasn’t overpowering, as he struck out five, but he was extremely efficient, as he barely cracked the 90-pitch barrier. He didn’t give up a hit until Canyon’s Jacob Burris looped a single to shallow right field to start the sixth, but he was stranded at second.
That performance has become par for the course for the Randall pitching staff in district play.
“Gio’s been fantastic all year,” Propst said. “He’s probably been our most consistent from tournament play to today. It was a heck of a job by him.”
That spoiled an otherwise stellar mound outing by McGuire, who in five innings gave up only five hits.
“The guys are at the plate in practice to get better,” Canyon coach John Doan said. “I thought we swung at good pitches and didn’t chase anything, we just didn’t square it up today. I really love how Christian competes and he wants the ball all the time. It’s a fight if we even want to take him out of the game.”
The only major blot on Miranda’s ledger was that he issued four walks, but at least two of those are easily explained. Miranda walked Canyon clean-up hitter Sam Johnson three times, twice intentionally, as he never saw a strike in three plate appearances and the Raiders were determined not to let him beat them.
Randall now has a three-game lead over both CISD rivals Canyon and West Plains with four games remaining in the regular season. Any win by Randall and a loss by both the Eagles and Wolves will give the Raiders the No. 1 playoff seed for the third straight year.
“Everybody doubted us,” Miranda said. “They said fourth in the district? No way.”
West Plains rolls over Hereford on Bentley no-no
Randall and Canyon aren’t the only CISD teams pitching well, as No. 16 West Plains moved back into a tie for second with Canyon by beating Hereford 10-0 in a five-inning 10-run mercy rule win on the road.
Of all the CISD pitchers, West Plains right-hander Ethan Bentley has had the best results lately. He threw an abbreviated no-hitter for his second straight five-inning shutout, having also beaten Canyon last week. The Wolves haven’t allowed an earned run in 27 straight innings.
West Plains (20-6, 7-3) led 4-0 after four, but attained the run-rule margin with six runs in the fifth. Bradley Cepeda’s two-run single capped the scoring and gave the Wolves enough to end it early.
Cepeda had two hits and drove in three runs and Jeremiah Gutierrez drove in two runs. Hereford fell to 16-7 and 6-4.
In the district’s other action, Perryton downed Dumas 10-6 and Pampa got by Borger 5-4.
District 3-5A
Tascosa routs PD, clinches playoff berth
The Tascosa Rebels completed a season sweep of the Palo Duro Dons on the road, winning 11-3 and clinching a playoff berth.
After Palo Duro scored in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead, Tascosa (8-16, 5-5) scored three in the top of the third and never trailed again, The Rebels cling to a one-run lead entering the seventh but put the game away with seven runs that inning.
Andrew Merrell had three hits and drove in three runs for the Rebels, who had five hitters with at least two hits each. Sophomore left-hander Coltyn Fulton pitched a complete-game, giving up just five hits.
Palo Duro fell to 3-21 and 0-8.
In the district’s other game, Plainview beat Caprock 15-8, and took the season series from the Longhorns (8-14, 4-6) two games to one. Plainview (11-14, 5-3) has also clinched a playoff spot.
District 1-3A
Jaco throws no-hitter as Bushland routs River Road
It’s appropriate that the Bushland Falcons opened the second half of district play with a near-perfect performance to continue a perfect 1-3A season.
The Falcons (19-2-1, 6-0) clinched a Class 3A postseason berth with the win.
In his first appearance on the mound in two weeks after an injury, Bushland right-hander Dawson Jaco threw a no-hitter as the Falcons opened the second half of district by routing River Road 16-0 in a five-inning run-rule victory which puts them on the cusp of a playoff berth.
Jaco was dominant in his return to the mound, striking out 11 with no walks in five innings. His only hiccup was hitting a pair of batters.
The Falcons gave Jaco more than enough support offensively. Ty Askins and Stratton Molloy both had two hits and drove in three runs and Noah Krause had two hits and drove in two runs.
Cannon Melban drove in two runs and Kade Gavina had three hits, as six Bushland hitters had at least two hits.
River Road fell to 8-9 and 1-5. In other 1-3A action, Dalhart beat Friona 16-6 and Tulia knocked off Dimmitt 15-12.
District 1-2A
Gruver, West Texas High, Sunray get victoriesÂ
The top teams from District 1-2A all took care of business on Friday afternoon.
Gruver topped Boys Ranch 15-0, Sunray handled Booker 11-1 and West Texas High survived a scare from Follett holding on for a 12-11 win.
The Comanches (9-9 overall, 4-4) trailed 7-6 in before plating six runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 12-7. The Panthers did their best to battle back but a rally fell short in the ninth.
Adrian Villanueva led WT High going 4-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs.
Gruver (12-4) stayed atop the district lead at 7-1 blanking Boys Ranch behind Sutton Ward’s 2-for-2 day at the dish with a pair of RBIs.
Sunray (12-4) also stayed hot at 8-1 in the league with a win over Booker with Azriel Vargas exploding for a 3-for-4 effort that included a triple, a double and two RBIs.
District 2-2A
Clarendon keeps on rollingÂ
Clarendon is proving to be the frontrunners so far in District 2-2A getting another one-sided victory this time in a 22-2 beating of Shamrock on Friday.
Clarendon (11-1-2) remains perfect at 4-0 in district play.
Easton Frausto powered the Broncos by blasting two home runs totaling four RBIs. Teammate Harrison Howard was 2-for-3 with a double with an RBI of his own.
Nazareth had no issue in a crossover game with Memphis getting an 8-0 shutout. The Swifts move to 7-3 overall and Claude took down Kress 8-2. The Mustangs are now 3-1 in district and 10-4-1 overall.