The first District 4-4A meeting of the season between Canyon and Randall on Friday afternoon at Randall High School was every bit as competitive as would be expected between the two traditional Canyon ISD rivals in determining early season bragging rights.
It would have appeared even more so had it not been for one really big inning.
In a game otherwise controlled by solid pitching, Randall took the reins with one very big inning. The Raiders sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third and broke a tie with eight runs, which was more than the difference in a 9-2 victory.
The win kept Randall (9-7-1, 2-0 in district) in first place in the district after the first week concluded. Randall scored a pair of decisive wins in week one to make an early statement in the district standings.
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“That inning where we scored eight was huge for us,” Randall coach Brad Propst said. “I would have liked to see us tack on some more runs late in the game. We were threatening in every inning pretty much but it was good to scratch some runs across so (starting pitcher Jonathan Noriega) could settle in a little bit and pitch the way he did.”
Canyon (11-6-1, 1-1) actually got on the board first with a run in the top of the first off Noriega. Carson Allen led off the game with a single, stole second, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Levi Turner’s sacrifice fly to right to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles did little else against Noriega for six innings, though. They manufactured another run in the top of the fifth, but that barely cut into Randall’s advantage.
Randall didn’t do much scoring either, aside from the bottom of the third. In the second, Canyon starter Brixton Lindley began the inning by walking Kaison Kauk on four pitches. Kauk eventually scored on Jaxton Pond’s two-out infield single to tie it at 1-1.
That was a prelude to the third, when everything seemed to go right for the Raiders. It reflected the offense they displayed in Tuesday’s district opening 13-2 10-run mercy rule win over Dumas.
“We’ve kind of been able to score runs in multiple ways,” Propst said. “We’ve been able to play small ball and then we’ve been abte to do what we did in that inning when we scored eight. I think we’re pretty versatile offensively.”
In the third, junior Tegan Nickelberry belted Lindley’s first pitch of the inning for a double to left, then advanced to third on Diego Flanagan’s single. Brekken Ireland singled to left to bring home Nickelberry and give Canyon the lead for good at 2-1.
Kauk then walked to load the bases with no outs and Lindley was pulled. That left Tanner Snider to take the mound in an unenviable relief situation.
Snider gave up a two-run single to Adam Trevino and hit Noah Cuellar to reload the bases. Braylen Preciado’s sacrifice fly and Pond’s two-run double made it 7-1. The batter who started it, Nickelberry, finished it with a two-run single to left to make it 9-1.
NIckelberry, hitting in the prestigious third spot in the order, showed that he earned the spot by going 3-for-3.
“I want to be the guy and have my teammates on for me and hit them in,” Nickelberry said, “It’s all about the energy, Our energy in the dugout is great and we’re all encouraging each other and jumping up and doing our celebration. It’s all about trusting each other.”
Nickelberry had two of Randall’s six hits in the third, the inning which will haunt Canyon through the weekend. The Raiders took advantage of Lindley’s early control struggles in particular.
“They did a good job of putting the ball in play,” Canyon coach Jed Anderson said of the Raiders. “That happens. We didn’t help ourselves with six walks. The name of the game is if we can get ahead of hitters and pitch guys backward and get them off balance and we weren’t able to do that.”
On the other hand, Noriega was solid, if not overpowering in his six-inning stint. He struck out only three, but give up only four hits.
Noriega escaped a couple of potentially dangerous situations early. He left Andrew Bellino stranded at third after a two-out triple in the third, and held the Eagles scoreless in the fourth after Kaz Abernathy’s leadoff double.
“He’s been one of our most consistent guys during tournament season,” Propst said. “We turned to him and he did just what we expected him to do. I don’t know who our ace is. We’ve got a bunch of really good guys that get a lot of outs.”
Nickelberry, Pond and Cuellar all had at least two hits each for Randall.
After giving up four runs in the third, Snider settled in for the Eagles. He held the Raiders scoreless over the last three innings.
THIS PAST WEEK’S SCORES
Tuesday’s games
District 3-5A
Amarillo High 12, Palo Duro 0
Tascosa 12, Plainview 11
Lubbock High 7, Caprock 2
Lubbock Monterey 8, Lubbock Coronado 7
District 4-4A
Randall 13, Dumas 2
Pampa 21, Borger 6
District 1-3A
Bushland 23, River Road 0
Tulia 15, Childress 6
Wednesday’s game
District 4-4A
West Plains 4, Hereford 2
Thursday’s game
District 4-4A
Canyon 11, Perryton 0
Friday’s games
District 3-5A
Amarillo High 15, Palo Duro 0
Lubbock High 3, Caprock 2
Plainview 10, Tascosa 0
Lubbock Coronado 8, Lubbock Coronado 7
District 4-4A
Randall 9, Canyon 2
West Plains 22, Perryton 4
Dumas 3, Borger 2
Hereford 6, Pampa 0
District 1-3A
Tulia 17, River Road 2
Childress 7, Dalhart 6