It’s said the third out in baseball is the hardest to get, and Evangel Christian Academy proved that to be the case Tuesday at Tiger Field.
After the first two batters struck out to start the Texas High fourth inning, the next nine batters reached base, seven of them scoring. That broke open a 1-run game and sent the surging Tigers to a 14-4 victory, called with no outs in the bottom of the sixth on the 10-run rule.
Texas High, which has feasted on Louisiana opponents, ran its record to 10-1 heading into Thursday’s tournament at Airline High School in Bossier City. Evangel, losing to the Tigers for the second time, fell to 5-6 overall.
Senior left-hander Eric Saulsbury allowed one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings to pick up the win, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. Junior southpaw Randall Fant started for the Tigers, but ran into problems in the fourth, and yielded to Saulsbury.
Fant fanned four and walked three, while Saulsbury struck out two, walked one and hit a batter.
Three of Evangel’s six hits came in the third when the Eagles scored three times to take a 4-3 lead. But the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.
“I thought we looked like a sloppy team on a sloppy field,” said Tigers coach Glenn Welch. “I don’t think we played that well at all, especially in the first three innings. We were playing a young team, and I think we played to their level.”
The Tigers had 12 hits, but seven came in the last three innings. They were also recipients of 12 walks—four in the last inning when they scored twice with no outs—from four Evangel pitchers.
Starter Will Ross walked four batters in the third, resulting in three Tiger runs. Then Ricardo Pierce and Richard Wrightner singled in runs in the third as Texas High went ahead for good.
Jerry Arterburn had a run-scoring double and Josh Turley a 2-run single in the big fourth inning.
Arterburn and Turley each went 2 for 2, and both had two runs batted in. Pierce, Wrightner and Hunter Allday were 2 for 4. John Stilson drove in three runs and designated runner Carlton Bailey scored three.
Although the Tigers are off to their best start in years, Welch is withholding judgment of his team, at least until this weekend.
“We’ll find out how good we hard this week,” he said. “We play Captain Shreve (the only team to beat THS) again, and Airline will throw their ace at us. We don’t know anything about the other teams we play, but those two are going to be tough.”
Evangel 013 000 — 4 6 2
Texas High 032 702 — 14 12 1
No outs in 6th inning when game ended on 10-run rule.
Will Ross, Connor Castellano (3), David Duron (4), Ray Johnson (6) and Brandon Spencer. Randall Fant, Eric Saulsbury (4) and Jerry Arterburn. WP-Saulsbury. LP-Ross.
After the first two batters struck out to start the Texas High fourth inning, the next nine batters reached base, seven of them scoring. That broke open a 1-run game and sent the surging Tigers to a 14-4 victory, called with no outs in the bottom of the sixth on the 10-run rule.
Texas High, which has feasted on Louisiana opponents, ran its record to 10-1 heading into Thursday’s tournament at Airline High School in Bossier City. Evangel, losing to the Tigers for the second time, fell to 5-6 overall.
Senior left-hander Eric Saulsbury allowed one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings to pick up the win, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. Junior southpaw Randall Fant started for the Tigers, but ran into problems in the fourth, and yielded to Saulsbury.
Fant fanned four and walked three, while Saulsbury struck out two, walked one and hit a batter.
Three of Evangel’s six hits came in the third when the Eagles scored three times to take a 4-3 lead. But the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.
“I thought we looked like a sloppy team on a sloppy field,” said Tigers coach Glenn Welch. “I don’t think we played that well at all, especially in the first three innings. We were playing a young team, and I think we played to their level.”
The Tigers had 12 hits, but seven came in the last three innings. They were also recipients of 12 walks—four in the last inning when they scored twice with no outs—from four Evangel pitchers.
Starter Will Ross walked four batters in the third, resulting in three Tiger runs. Then Ricardo Pierce and Richard Wrightner singled in runs in the third as Texas High went ahead for good.
Jerry Arterburn had a run-scoring double and Josh Turley a 2-run single in the big fourth inning.
Arterburn and Turley each went 2 for 2, and both had two runs batted in. Pierce, Wrightner and Hunter Allday were 2 for 4. John Stilson drove in three runs and designated runner Carlton Bailey scored three.
Although the Tigers are off to their best start in years, Welch is withholding judgment of his team, at least until this weekend.
“We’ll find out how good we hard this week,” he said. “We play Captain Shreve (the only team to beat THS) again, and Airline will throw their ace at us. We don’t know anything about the other teams we play, but those two are going to be tough.”
Evangel 013 000 — 4 6 2
Texas High 032 702 — 14 12 1
No outs in 6th inning when game ended on 10-run rule.
Will Ross, Connor Castellano (3), David Duron (4), Ray Johnson (6) and Brandon Spencer. Randall Fant, Eric Saulsbury (4) and Jerry Arterburn. WP-Saulsbury. LP-Ross.