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05-23-2015, 07:32 AM
By Joshua Cook joshua.cook@thefacts.com | 0 comments
SWEENY — A streak stayed alive Friday amid a rainy Class 4A Region IV best-of-three quarterfinal series.
All season, the El Campo Ricebirds had not lost two games in a row, and they maintained that streak Friday by staving off elimination in a 5-0 win against the Sweeny Bulldogs at Sweeny High School.
The win forces a winner-take-all Game 3 at 2 p.m. today in El Campo, where the Bulldogs took Game 1 by a score of 3-0 on Thursday.
The Bulldogs were unable to pull off the sweep Friday in a contest that was delayed twice by rain for a total of about 45 minutes.
“We need to play loose. We’ve been here before,” Sweeny coach David Luster said. “We were here (in a Game 3) last week. We had a bad Game 2, and we need to turn it around and play good baseball.”
Following the second delay, the Ricebirds capitalized on several Sweeny miscues to push across four runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Ridge Whitley led off the frame with an infield single, and Brock Brandl and Seth Pustejovsky followed with back-to-back knocks to load the bases.
With the sacks full and no outs, El Campo starting pitcher Bryian Crivellari helped his own cause by plating the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Whitley.
Needing two more outs to get out of the jam, Sweeny starting pitcher Brett Bullard and the rest of the Bulldog defense found themselves in a hole quickly.
El Campo second baseman Chad Quinn chopped a grounder to first base, but Sweeny’s Mitchell Ullom was unable to handle it. As the ball rolled into right field, Brandl came in to score while Pustejovsky headed for third. The relay throw from Sweeny right fielder Hayden Fails sailed past the infield, allowing another run to come home and Quinn to reach third.
With errors helping the Ricebirds to a 3-0 lead, another miscue — this one in the form of a wild pitch by Bullard — allowed Quinn to score for a 4-0 advantage.
“Their guys did a good job of putting the ball in play,” Luster said. “They played their game better than we played our game.”
Sweeny had a couple of chances to pull back into the game in the fifth and sixth innings, putting two men on in each frame.
However, both opportunities came up empty, as the Bulldog bats were unable to squeeze a ball through the Ricebird defense.
In the fifth, Jacob Mathis drew a leadoff walk, and Bullard followed with a single. After a flyout by Jonathan Svoboda, shortstop Cody Erikson roped a single into left.
Mathis rounded third and bolted for the plate, but Whitley delivered a strike to catcher Brandl, who applied the tag for the second out of the inning. Jairon Ordonez flew out to right to end the threat.
The Ricebirds tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, as Quinn drew a walk, stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Clayton Harp.
El Campo outhit the Bulldogs, 8-2, in the ball game.
Erikson led the Sweeny offense with a single and a pair of walks.
Crivellari earned the complete-game victory, striking out four while surrendering two hits and walking six.
Bullard lasted six innings in a losing effort on the hill, allowing seven hits while striking out seven and walking one. Only one of the four runs that came home on Bullard was earned.
Joshua Cook is a sports writer for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0161.
SWEENY — A streak stayed alive Friday amid a rainy Class 4A Region IV best-of-three quarterfinal series.
All season, the El Campo Ricebirds had not lost two games in a row, and they maintained that streak Friday by staving off elimination in a 5-0 win against the Sweeny Bulldogs at Sweeny High School.
The win forces a winner-take-all Game 3 at 2 p.m. today in El Campo, where the Bulldogs took Game 1 by a score of 3-0 on Thursday.
The Bulldogs were unable to pull off the sweep Friday in a contest that was delayed twice by rain for a total of about 45 minutes.
“We need to play loose. We’ve been here before,” Sweeny coach David Luster said. “We were here (in a Game 3) last week. We had a bad Game 2, and we need to turn it around and play good baseball.”
Following the second delay, the Ricebirds capitalized on several Sweeny miscues to push across four runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Ridge Whitley led off the frame with an infield single, and Brock Brandl and Seth Pustejovsky followed with back-to-back knocks to load the bases.
With the sacks full and no outs, El Campo starting pitcher Bryian Crivellari helped his own cause by plating the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Whitley.
Needing two more outs to get out of the jam, Sweeny starting pitcher Brett Bullard and the rest of the Bulldog defense found themselves in a hole quickly.
El Campo second baseman Chad Quinn chopped a grounder to first base, but Sweeny’s Mitchell Ullom was unable to handle it. As the ball rolled into right field, Brandl came in to score while Pustejovsky headed for third. The relay throw from Sweeny right fielder Hayden Fails sailed past the infield, allowing another run to come home and Quinn to reach third.
With errors helping the Ricebirds to a 3-0 lead, another miscue — this one in the form of a wild pitch by Bullard — allowed Quinn to score for a 4-0 advantage.
“Their guys did a good job of putting the ball in play,” Luster said. “They played their game better than we played our game.”
Sweeny had a couple of chances to pull back into the game in the fifth and sixth innings, putting two men on in each frame.
However, both opportunities came up empty, as the Bulldog bats were unable to squeeze a ball through the Ricebird defense.
In the fifth, Jacob Mathis drew a leadoff walk, and Bullard followed with a single. After a flyout by Jonathan Svoboda, shortstop Cody Erikson roped a single into left.
Mathis rounded third and bolted for the plate, but Whitley delivered a strike to catcher Brandl, who applied the tag for the second out of the inning. Jairon Ordonez flew out to right to end the threat.
The Ricebirds tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, as Quinn drew a walk, stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Clayton Harp.
El Campo outhit the Bulldogs, 8-2, in the ball game.
Erikson led the Sweeny offense with a single and a pair of walks.
Crivellari earned the complete-game victory, striking out four while surrendering two hits and walking six.
Bullard lasted six innings in a losing effort on the hill, allowing seven hits while striking out seven and walking one. Only one of the four runs that came home on Bullard was earned.
Joshua Cook is a sports writer for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0161.