Tiger baseball season ends in regional quarters

GRAFORD – Two-thirds of an inning does not a season make.

Many Tiger baseball fans have to be left wondering ‘what if’ following an 11-run sixth inning by Brock which ultimately sent Jacksboro to its demise Saturday afternoon here. Having only five hits over the first five frames thanks to pitching from Hunter Drennan and Fernando Piedra, the Eagles came through with nine hits in the sixth enroute to a 15-3, six inning win in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals.

Jacksboro, the District 8-3A champ, ended its season at 21-12-1 with Brock, which had its 23-game win streak snapped in a Friday loss, going to 28-4-1 and facing Wall in the next round. 

Jacksboro Coach blake Belcher said he was proud of his players.

“We ran out of steam,” Belcher said following the 2:20 affair. “I couldn’t be prouder of thse kids.”

Drennan got the start on the hill and allowed four runs over two full innings before being replaced by Piedra. The junior pitched three innings of shutout ball to allow Jacksboro a chance to get back in the game.

“Hunter gave us all he had, which is to keep us within striking distance and he did,” Belcher said. 

Jacksboro used single runs in the third, fourth and fifth frames to stay in the game. In the third, Ty Kennedy singled while Caleb Nunley drew a walk off Brock starter Joseph Gossett. With one gone, Lathan Lowrance brought home Kennedy with a single but the throw home was in time to retire Nunley. Tyler Harmonson drew a walk but the pair were left stranded on a groundout.

In the fourth, Drennan stroked a single with Piedra and Kennedy drawing walks to fill the pond. A fielder’s choice play, which brought Nunley aboard, brought home courtesy runner Michael Harp and forced Kennedy at second. A strikeout ended the frame.

In the fifth, a one-out Harmonson single was enough for Cooper Allen to relieve Gossett. Dixon greeted him with a rocket of a single to third. A two out intentional walk to Drennan filled the bases.

A grounder by Piedra was mishandled by the shortstop, which plated Harmonson to cut the deficit to one before a strikeout left the bags full.

Two-RBI base hits by Noah Nye, Jackson Hardison and Christian Stites built the Brock lead to 10-3. Nye added another pair of RBIs with a single later in the frame before Harmonson, who relieved Dixon earlier in the inning, got out of the jam with a flyout to center.

Harmonson’s second single of the game and a two-out Lowrance walk breathed brief life into the Tigers in the bottom of the inning but a popout to first ended the game on mercy rule.