ATLANTA, Texas -- Pleasant Grove unleashed the lumber Saturday, pounding Pittsburg, 13-1, to stay unbeaten in District 15-4A play and set up a first-place showdown between two of Class 4A's best teams.
No. 2 Liberty-Eylau (14-4. 4-0) will visit unranked PG (10-7, 4-0) at 6 p.m. Tuesday to decide who grabs the flag after one of three turns through the district. A year ago, Pleasant Grove swept the Leopards in three games, but L-E went to the state finals before losing in 12 innings.
L-E last week shut out Paris, 11-0, and Pittsburg 9-0.
Pleasant Grove beat North Lamar, 6-2 Tuesday but, for the second consecutive week, saw a Friday game delayed by weather. The teams met at high noon Saturday at the nearest dry field: Atlanta's all-weather, fan-friendly, and attractive new baseball diamond.
The change in routine seemed not to affect the Hawks, who showed up with solid pitching, slick fielding, and a powerful offense to invoke the mercy rule in the fifth on the Pirates, who fell to 7-7, 1-3.
"The best part is they play for each other," said Pleasant Grove coach Riley Fincher. "They're not concerned with who gets the credit as long as the team wins."
Seeing his first action since breaking a hand six weeks ago, Hunter Rose threw all but the last out. He scattered three hits, struck out three, and walked three.
"Hunter didn't have his best stuff today, but he kept battling and got some great defense behind him," Fincher said.
Highlight reel plays kept coming. First baseman Ty Boozer fielded an awkwardly placed slow roller and slid into first a half-step ahead of the runner. Catcher Cade Martin flagged down a soaring pop foul inches from the screen.
In the fifth, Martin gunned down a runner who strayed too far from first. Two hitters later, the infield ended a threat with a 4-6-3 double play.
The Pirates' strongest offensive threat came in the fifth. They needed three runs to extend the game and had the bases loaded with one out. Landan Graham launched a high pop foul that seemed destined for the Hawk dugout, but Spencer Browning reached up and over an 8-foot fence to snare the ball.
On the next pitch, Browning easily fielded a grounder and stepped on the bag to end the game.
The Hawks' lone error came in the second and the beneficiary, Carter Lankford, scored on a nicely executed, two-out squeeze play. The Hawks got that one back in their next at-bat. With two outs, Landon West reached on a walk, and Buck Anderson promptly drilled a liner that bounced off the left-field fence.
In the third, PG again rallied with two outs, this time for six runs on four hits, a hit batsman, and a walk.
Jarret Halter started the trouble when he skied a pop fly so high that the shortstop lost the ball in the sun. By the time the Pirates tracked it down, Halter was skedaddling into second. Browning put the Hawks up with an RBI double.
Martin followed that with a looping line drive over the left-field fence. He would add a pair of RBI singles. The home run made it 5-1, and the Hawks just kept their foot on the pedal.
Three batters later, Anderson ripped a two-RBI double to the left gap. The sophomore designated hitter would finish his day three-for-three with four RBI and two runs scored.
In the fourth, Browning and Jace Elrod both tripled and scored.