Scoop27
05-23-2015, 07:34 AM
By JOEL LUNA joel.luna@thefacts.com | 0 comments
SEALY — The Brazosport Exporters continued their run through the postseason by not allowing any in a two-game sweep of Sealy.
The Exporters blanked Sealy, 4-0, on Friday afternoon in the Class 4A Region IV quarterfinal round of the baseball playoffs, running their scoreless streak to 15 innings in the process.
Michael Traylor zipped through seven frames as Brazosport (20-10) shut out the Tigers (17-10) for the second day in a row. Traylor finished with eight strikeouts, three hits and no walks to the Tigers.
“I felt good through six innings, and in that seventh, I knew I had to go out there and just finish it off because that is what I do,” Traylor said of his complete-game performance.
Brazosport will face the winner of Rockport-Fulton and Hidalgo series that started Friday and continues today in Laredo.
“Prior to the game, the mentality of this team was real, real good,” Traylor said. “Everybody on the bus was focused, and as soon as the game started, the intensity picked up.”
With the right-hander taking care of the mound, the Exporters produced single runs in each of the first four frames.
Leadoff batter Travis Simmons started off the contest with a shot up the middle right past Sealy starter Xavier Teague. A sacrifice moved Simmons to second base, and a passed ball placed him on third. One out later, Teague uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Simmons to slide in for a 1-0 Brazosport lead.
More wildness by Teague tallied another run in the second.
After two quick strikeouts, Jon Reyes kept the frame alive with a shot to left field that was followed by an Al Amador single to center.
After a wild pitch moved the runners up a base, Simmons was intentionally walked despite a 2-2 count on him to load the bases. That brought up pint-sized second baseman Jacob Lerma, who drew four consecutive balls to plate Reyes and make it 2-0.
The Exporters were unable to break the game open, though, leaving the bases loaded.
A wild pitch scored the Ships’ run in the third, and Lerma smashed a ball between first and second base in the fourth to bring in Reyes, who had started the frame with a double to center field.
“We are what we are, and it took a while to figure that out, but now we are convinced about who we are,” Brazosport coach Kent Schulte said. “The best thing is that we don’t panic in a close game. For us to score a run in each inning is huge because it is about winning innings and keeping pressure on the other guy.”
Traylor sat down 10 consecutive Tiger batters until Holten Einkauf (2-for-3) got Sealy’s first hit in the fourth frame. Sealy didn’t get a runner to third base until the sixth inning.
“He (Traylor) didn’t overdo things; he stayed within himself,” Schulte said. “There were a couple of pitches he overthrew ahead in the count — that is fine because he commanded and directed the game from inning to inning.”
Brazosport finished with six hits in the win.
“We are not a great hitting team, but we do move runners around and place them in position to score,” Schulte said. “Lerma’s single with two outs is a good example. That is the way we score runs.”
Schulte said his team’s playoff run might not have been expected based on its early season performance.
“Yeah, about two or three months ago, but once we got into the playoffs, I am convinced and the players are convinced,” he said.
Joel Luna is the sports editor of The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0160.
SEALY — The Brazosport Exporters continued their run through the postseason by not allowing any in a two-game sweep of Sealy.
The Exporters blanked Sealy, 4-0, on Friday afternoon in the Class 4A Region IV quarterfinal round of the baseball playoffs, running their scoreless streak to 15 innings in the process.
Michael Traylor zipped through seven frames as Brazosport (20-10) shut out the Tigers (17-10) for the second day in a row. Traylor finished with eight strikeouts, three hits and no walks to the Tigers.
“I felt good through six innings, and in that seventh, I knew I had to go out there and just finish it off because that is what I do,” Traylor said of his complete-game performance.
Brazosport will face the winner of Rockport-Fulton and Hidalgo series that started Friday and continues today in Laredo.
“Prior to the game, the mentality of this team was real, real good,” Traylor said. “Everybody on the bus was focused, and as soon as the game started, the intensity picked up.”
With the right-hander taking care of the mound, the Exporters produced single runs in each of the first four frames.
Leadoff batter Travis Simmons started off the contest with a shot up the middle right past Sealy starter Xavier Teague. A sacrifice moved Simmons to second base, and a passed ball placed him on third. One out later, Teague uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Simmons to slide in for a 1-0 Brazosport lead.
More wildness by Teague tallied another run in the second.
After two quick strikeouts, Jon Reyes kept the frame alive with a shot to left field that was followed by an Al Amador single to center.
After a wild pitch moved the runners up a base, Simmons was intentionally walked despite a 2-2 count on him to load the bases. That brought up pint-sized second baseman Jacob Lerma, who drew four consecutive balls to plate Reyes and make it 2-0.
The Exporters were unable to break the game open, though, leaving the bases loaded.
A wild pitch scored the Ships’ run in the third, and Lerma smashed a ball between first and second base in the fourth to bring in Reyes, who had started the frame with a double to center field.
“We are what we are, and it took a while to figure that out, but now we are convinced about who we are,” Brazosport coach Kent Schulte said. “The best thing is that we don’t panic in a close game. For us to score a run in each inning is huge because it is about winning innings and keeping pressure on the other guy.”
Traylor sat down 10 consecutive Tiger batters until Holten Einkauf (2-for-3) got Sealy’s first hit in the fourth frame. Sealy didn’t get a runner to third base until the sixth inning.
“He (Traylor) didn’t overdo things; he stayed within himself,” Schulte said. “There were a couple of pitches he overthrew ahead in the count — that is fine because he commanded and directed the game from inning to inning.”
Brazosport finished with six hits in the win.
“We are not a great hitting team, but we do move runners around and place them in position to score,” Schulte said. “Lerma’s single with two outs is a good example. That is the way we score runs.”
Schulte said his team’s playoff run might not have been expected based on its early season performance.
“Yeah, about two or three months ago, but once we got into the playoffs, I am convinced and the players are convinced,” he said.
Joel Luna is the sports editor of The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0160.