LONGVIEW, Texas-James Bowie's bats woke up a little late Thursday at Longview High School's Lobo Field.
Groveton junior Hayden Terry (10-1) limited the Pirates to two hits in the first six innings before tiring, and the Indians won the first game of this Region III-2A semifinal series, 5-1.
The best-of-three series resumes here Saturday at noon. If the Pirates win, a decisive third game will follow.
The Pirates put the ball in play against Terry, but nothing hard until the seventh.
Singles by Dylan Trissel, Mason Plunk and Dalton McBride scored the Bucs' lone run. McBride's liner to center was also Terry's 110th pitch, meaning his exit from the mound in favor of Glenn Thornton, who inherited a one-out, bases-loaded jam.
Thornton, who is expected to start Saturday, threw one pitch and got a 6-4-3 doubleplay to end the game.
"Lately out bats haven't come alive until the end of games, and I told our guys we couldn't do that against Groveton," James Bowie coach Wace Forga said. "That was the story of the game. We left eight runners on bases and couldn't get that timely hit.
"Bailey (Obenoskey) pitched good enough to win. We've got some guys who can swing the bat. We'll go with sophomore Evan Barron (7-1)on the mound in Saturday's first game, and we've got senior Cody Roberson (5-0) for a third game."
Both of Thursday's starting pitchers used all of their eligibility for this series. Obenoskey threw 92 pitches, 22 of them in the seventh inning when the Indians scored two insurance runs.
Seventh-ranked Groveton (28-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second on singles by Cody Fairchild, Anthony Chavez and Spencer Pope.
The Indians also hit Obenoskey hard in the third frame. Terry singled to center with one out, and scored on Thornton's long double off the left field fence. Thornton continued to third on the throw home. He scored one out later on Anthony Chavez's second hit.
James Bowie (22-5) wasted a scoring opportunity in the second when Cody Roberson walked, and moved up on Barron's sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch got him to third with only one out, but Terry escaped with a shallow fly to center and grounder to shortstop.
The Pirates had runners at the corners with two outs in the fifth. Terry got out of that jam with a grounder to the mound.
McBride started the Pirates' sixth with a bunt hit, and two outs later Roberson walked on a 3-2 pitch. Again, Terry got out of the inning with a popup to the mound.
Terry, Thornton and Chavez led the Indians' nine-hit attack with two hits each. McBride was the only James Bowie player with two hits.
The winner of this series advances to play Overton or Woden for the Region III-2A championship.
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Haden Terry, Glenn Thornton (7) and Anthony Chavez; Bailey Obenoskey and Branson Wilson. WP-Terry (10-1); LP-Obenoskey (10-2).