The Texarkana Twins got dominant pitching and some defensive gems as the home team beat the Texas Marshals, 5-1, Monday at George Dobson Field to open the final week of the Texas Collegiate League play.
Twin starter Jimmy Cravey worked seven strong innings to earn the win. Cravey, a left-harder, needed 93 pitches and scattered five hits, struck out five and walked one. He allowed one unearned run.
Jack Christian worked a perfect eighth with two strikeouts, and Riley Wood recovered from a leadoff double in the ninth with consecutive strikeouts.
The next two batters walked to load the bases and bring the potential tying run to the plate, but a high flyout to left-center stranded the bases loaded to end the game.
Dylan Ditzenberger paced Texarkana's 9-hit attack with a pair of singles, driving in a run and scoring once. Coltyn Kesler had a 2-run double for the Twins, and Cam Hill also had an RBI two-bagger.
A 1-out error on a routine fly ball in the top of the first inning led to the Marshals' initial run. Zavier Moore reached second after his fly was dropped, and Jordan Hollis plated Moore with his single to left.
Jaylon Keys sliced the second pitch he saw from Eggelston into left-center field for a leadoff singles and he advanced on an errant pickoff throw. Cam Hill grounded an RBI double down the right-field line to knot the score.
Hill moved to third on a groundout to second and scored on Dylan Ditzenberger's sac fly to give Texarkana a 2-1 lead.
Twins left fielder Hunter Church helped protect the 1-run advantage by throwing out Nolyn Box, who had belted a stand-up double earlier in the inning, at the plate with a perfect throw home following Tyler Brown's 2-out single.
The Twins added another run in the third with back-to-back 2-out hits. Ditzenberger beat out an infield hit and was put at second as a throw to first would up in the Marshals' dugout, and Avery George's soft liner to shallow right scored the run easily.
The Twins had at least one runner in each inning through the fifth, but Eggelston retired the side in order in the sixth. Cravey had 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and sixth innings.
Kesler followed a pair of free passes issued by the Texas bullpen with a 2-run double to deep left-center field, extending Texarkana's lead to 5-1.
Andre Ruche and Box each had a double for the Marshals.
Twins, Marshals Boxscores
Texas Marshals 100 000 000 - 1 6 2
Texarkana Twins 201 000 20x - 5 9 2
Austin Eggelston, Ben Rowdon (7), Joaquin Balesteros (7) and Camren Keller, Rowdon (7). Jimmy Cravey, Jack Christian (8), Riley Wood (9) and Coltyn Kesler. WP-Cravey. LP-Eggelston.