DISTRICT CHAMPS

Just Another Day ...except for the District 8-3A championship.

Dio’s hard rock tune of the mid 80s spoke volumes Friday evening as Jacksboro’s varsity baseball squad, doing exactly what they had done to get to Friday’s district title showdown with Boyd, overcame a slow night at the plate and took advantage of opportunities provided by the visiting Yellowjackets to post a 6-0 win at a packed Tiger Field.

Jacksboro heads into the postseason with a 16-10-2 ledger (11-3 in district) and will take on Tolar in the first round sometime next week. Further details are forthcoming.

Because of the obvious celebration going on and other game details, Tiger Coach Blake Belcher was unavailable for comment.

Tiger pitchers Ty Kennedy and Clay Botello, who came on in the sixth, held the visitors to just three hits. Jacksboro had just four hits but picked up all the offense it’d need with a first inning run.

Lathan Lowrance opened with a single, stole second and came home on a two out shortstop’s miscue, one of three on the night for the visitors, which allowed Botello aboard.  A strikeout ended the frame. 

Kennedy and Boyd ace Spencer Pellegrini matched zeroes for the next two innings until Boyd threatened in the fourth. A Creighton Wit single ended Kennedy’s bid for a no-hitter but a fly ball to right fielder Caleb Nunley turned into a double play as Nunley fired back to first to double Wit off the bag and end the frame.

It wouldn’t be the last outfield assist of the night as center fielder Tyler Harmonson fired a rocket home following a Ryan Couture single to cut down Boston McIntire at the plate to end the fifth.

Jacksboro struck for a pair of fourth inning runs, opening with Luke Dixon’s first pitch single to left. Botello followed with a walk. A stolen base and Hunter Drennan’s groundout scored Dixon with Botello beating a throw home with the defense playing in on a fielder's choice for a 3-0 lead.

Fired up by the Harmonson play, the Tigers began pulling away in the fifth. Payton Laake led off with a walk, advanced to second and used a Lowrance sacrifice to move to third.

Once again, a shortstop’s bobble of a grounder paid dividends as Laake raced home with a 4-0 lead. A strikeout left Dixon holding the bag.

After Boyd left the bases full in the top of the frame, Jacksboro opened the bottom of the inning as Drennan led off with his second hit of the game, a double. while Kennedy was plunked by a one out pitch. With two gone, Laake stroked a 2-0 pitch through the box to score both runs. A fly to right ended the threat.

Boyd had one last gasp in the 7th, Couture picking up a two out walk off Botello, who had struck out the first two hitters. Pellegrini’s flyout ended the 2:01 contest.