Don't make the mistake of judging the Texarkana Twins by their first two games this summer.
The Twins were 0-2 after Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Victoria Generals at George Dobson Field.
However, history was set Sunday night after a short lightning delay thanks to the brilliant pitching of southpaw Ben Donnell, who scattered five hits and struck out five to beat the defending Texas Collegiate Summer League champion Brazos Valley Bombers, 4-2.
A sophomore this past spring at Mid-American Christian College, Donnell kept the Bombers off balance most of the game. Three of the Bombers' hits came in the sixth. Donnell only needed to throw 98 pitches in nine innings of work, and incredibly walked only one after his teammates had walked 26 in the first two setbacks.
The Twins captured the lead in the second after a one-out double by Drake Osborn. Designated hitter Nick Anderson walked against losing pitcher Cole Pietka. Both runners scored on Axel Poisman's single to right.
Texarkana made it 4-1 in the third on a walk and back-to-back doubles by Cale Ridling and Johnny Gonzalez, who made the defensive play of the game in the eighth when he gunned Troy Anderson down at the plate for a doubleplay after a one-out fly to left.
The one positive for the Bombers was the performances of their relievers. Three players saw action on the mound after Pietka, holding Texarkana hitless and scoreless the final five innings.
"Despite the loss Saturday I was really happy with the guys, and I wasn't necessarily upset with them the night before," Texarkana manager Jake Mitzner said. "It was a lot better Saturday, and it got a lot better tonight.
"We're going to have some pretty good guys coming our way, and we'll be adding some depth, too. We've got four players from Murray State coming in, but it might be another week-and-a-half because they've got a chance to win the NJCAA World Series, and we're pulling for them to do just that."
Texarkana had two new pitchers (George Eubanks and Trey Jeans) on its roster for Sunday's game with the Brazos Valley Bombers. Those same two teams are scheduled to play again tonight at 7:05 p.m. on George Dobson's diamond.
"Both Eubanks and Jeans are Texarkana-area guys," Mitzner said. "Eubanks was a bullpen guy at Southern Arkansas University, and Jeans was Seminole College's ace."
Blake Hastings, who pitched for Southeast Missouri State this spring, will be joining the Twins today.
Seminole's Gunner Halter will also be joining the Twins this week. He is expected to be the team's starting shortstop, but his stay could be short because of the major league draft, according to Mitzner.
"All of those guys and some others should be immediate impact guys for us," he said. "We're still trying to get a couple of more arms for the bullpen. We got Cale Ridling Saturday, and he was a big part of the game for us with two hits. He's another Texarkana player, who is going to college in Little Rock."
Joseph Shepherd of Longview, Texas, and the centerfielder for Henderson State University, also had two hits in Saturday's close setback. He made a sensational catch and threw two baserunners out Saturday.
The Twins had the tying run thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch in the eighth inning. They had the potential tying and winning runs on base in the ninth when Victoria's Garrett Alexander struck out Matthew Hammock to end the game.
"That's all part of baseball; sometimes you're good and some days you're not," Mitzner said. "Our bullpen wasn't very good Friday night, but it was good Saturday. A couple of ground balls found there way into the outfield for Victoria runs. We just couldn't do that in the first two games."
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Brazos Valley=001=001=000==2=5=3
Texarkana=022=000=00x==4=5=3
Cole Pietka, Clayton Hill (4), Reid Morgan (6), Chris Cooper (8) and Troy Anderson; Ben Donnell and Axel Poisman. WP-Donnell (1-0); LP-Pietka (0-1).
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Saturday's late linescore
Victoria=001=003=010==5=9=4
Texarkana=000-013=000==4=8=2
Sean McGrath, Cody Moos (6), Garrett Alexander (9) and Skinner Marshall; Shane McCarley, Nick Anderson (7), Gage Wall (9) and Axel Poisman. WP-Moos (1-0); LP-Anderson (0-1).