MARSHALL, Texas-James Bowie swept Shelbyville, 2-1, 7-1, in a Region III-2A semifinal Thursday evening at Woods Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist University.
An explosive sixth inning, which brought in all seven of the Pirates runs to overcome the one-run lead the Dragons had obtained in the fifth, gave the Pirates the momentum they needed to secure the win and eliminate the need for third game.
James Bowie topped Shelbyville, 2-1, in the first of two games.
The contest was a battle fought primarily on the mound. Pirate pitcher Evan Barron threw 78 pitches in the first game and collected nine Ks, including three consecutively in the second frame.
Kolby Parker, who was in the circle for the Dragons, also had nine strikeouts and forced three three-and-outs.
Barron broke the ice for the Pirates in the opening stanza with a single up the middle of the field to move Dalton McBride into scoring position.
Brandon Oberoskoy came through with a sacrifice to score McBride, and Barron made his own way home on a wild pitch to give James Bowie a two-run edge.
The Dragons had two hits in the first five innings before Cole Ferguson smashed a double through right field in the top of the sixth. Kaleb Campbell gave Ferguson the opportunity score with an single to right to cut the lead to one before the Pirates secured the final out needed to end the game.
In the second game both teams remained silent until Shelbyville's Michael Spears was batted home by Trevor Wilburn's single up the middle to give the Dragons a one-run advantage.
James Bowie answered in a big way in the top of the sixth with seven runs, five of which they gained with two outs. Barron connected first with a double to center but it was Zane DeBerry that started the onslaught with a two RBI single to score Barron and Witt Rogers giving the lead, and all the momentum, to the Pirates.
Still in the sixth, Tyler Crabtree added an RBI single down the right side to score DeBerry. Garrett Brown hit an single shot over right field to score Evan Williams and Crabtree. Lastly, Barron connected for a two RBI single to right that allowed Cason Bradley and Brown to score.
James Bowie 200 000 0-2 2 0
Shelbyville 000 001 0-1 3 2
Kolby Parker and Zack Clark. Evan Barron and Garrett Brown.
WP-Parker. LP-Barron.
Shelbyville 000 010 0-1 5 0
James Bowie 000 007 0-7 9 0
Whitt Rogers, Evan Barron (7), and Garrett Brown. Zack Clark, Kaleb Campbell (5), Cole Ferguson (6), and Sam Jones.