MARSHALL, Texas-For the most part, it just wasn't Pleasant Grove's night in Game 2.
Down 6-4 in bottom of the final frame, Bullard put together a rally and avoided the area-round sweep with a 7-6 victory over the Hawks on Saturday at East Texas Baptist University.
After a Pleasant Grove error, Bryce Jewell slapped an RBI-double to bring home Gage Wakefield. With two more walks, Ben Harmon fielded a soft grounder but Bullard's Landry Lesseter was called safe at first and the tying and winning runs scored.
The Panthers scored the game's first run in the first after Jake Johnson hit an RBI-single to score lead-off batter Nic Costas.
The Hawks answered back in the third inning with three runs.
With two outs, Carson Cox drew a walk and Jackson Cobb hit a single. A wild pitch and a walk later, both runners advanced to score and Seth Hopkins brought in the third with a bases-loaded walk.
Bullard put together their first rally in the fifth inning when Pleasant Grove walked the bases loaded and an infield single and error brought the trio in to take a 4-3 lead.
Pleasant Grove retook the lead in top of the seventh before the Panthers rallied back for the win.
Jackson Cobb belted a triple and scored after a suicide squeeze by Keaton Russo. Seth Hopkins followed the triple with a single and Ben Harmon executed an inside-the-park home run to give the Hawks a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the final frame.
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Game 1
Pleasant Grove 1, Bullard 0 (8 innings)
It came down to a pitchers duel and free baseball to decide the winner.
Nick Voyles struck out nine in seven innings and Pleasant Grove overcame three errors to edge Bullard, 1-0, in extra innings in Game 1 of the area round on Friday night at East Texas Baptist University.
Andrew LeGrand got the eighth frame started when he was struck by a pitch and Kelley advanced him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Carson Cox was intentionally walked before Jackson Cobb hit the walk-off single to score LeGrand.
Voyles pitched out of several jams throughout the night, including the seventh inning.
In the seventh, Bullard's Bryce Jewell hit a lead-off single, but wouldn't advance any further after Voyles struck out two and gave up a routine grounder to shortstop.
"I wouldn't trade Voyles for anybody," Pleasant Grove coach Riley Fincher said. "You look at what he did tonight, pitching us out of jams early and pitching us out of jams late. He got a little fatigued later in the game, and stepped it back up after talking to him.
The Panthers would again bang out a lead-off single in the eighth frame, this time off of reliever Marshall Oubre, but again wouldn't get anything out of it.
Oubre forced a high fly to Matthew Gilley and a grounder to Ben Harmon. He also had a strikeout to cap off the inning before the Hawks scored the game-winner in bottom of the frame.