Scoop27
05-30-2015, 11:00 AM
From the Brazosport Facts
SAN ANTONIO — Early jitters cost the Brazosport Exporters on the scoreboard as they dropped the first game of the Class 4A Region IV semifinal baseball series to Hidalgo, 2-0, on Friday at Dickson Stadium at St. Mary’s University.
Brazosport (20-11) will have to sweep a doubleheader today to stay alive as both teams come back for a 2 p.m. first pitch at St. Mary’s University.
“They won one inning, but their kid competed well on the mound,” Brazosport coach Kenneth Schulte said. “I thought we got good swings the first five innings, but I thought we pressed in the sixth and seventh and didn’t get very good swings.”
That second frame proved to be the difference for the Pirates. But in the top half of that frame, the Exporters were looking at a scoring situation with runners on the corners and no outs, but came away empty.
Jay Hernandez led off with a single to left field and was replaced on the bases by pinch-runner Jeremiah Credit. A wild pitch and passed ball to Aaron McIntyre moved Credit all the way to third base. He was soon joined on the basepaths by McIntyre who drew a walk from Oscar Noguera.
With leading hitter Michael Traylor (.346) at the plate, the Ships were hoping to take the early lead, but on an 0-1 count Traylor missed the pitch on a suicide squeeze as Credit made it more than halfway down the line before he was tagged out at home.
Noguera then struck out Traylor and Joshua Luna to get out of the inning unscathed.
With the Pirates up to bat in the same frame, leadoff batter Michael Alvarez reached when second baseman Jacob Lerma booted Alvarez’s grounder.
Senior Adrian Ruiz (2-for-3) came up with one out and tripled to the left-field gap and the Pirates took a 1-0 lead. On the same play, shortstop Travis Simmons threw to third base trying to get Ruiz, but the ball wound up in the Exporter dugout, allowing Ruiz to score.
“He (McIntyre) made an 0-2 mistake, and in the same inning we don’t convert an out on a ground ball to second,” Schulte said. “And on the 0-2, the kid hits it to the fence and we throw it and the third baseman lets it go between his legs. When you miss a ball at third, it is a run.”
The Exporters got another scoring opportunity in the third inning when senior Al Amador laced a shot to left field with one out, then stole second base. Simmons lined a hard shot to right field, which was snagged, but at the sound of the crack of the bat, Amador took off for third base and was easily doubled off to end the inning.
“Squeeze and we didn’t get the bunt down, then we have a runner at second with one out and they get a fly ball behind us, we should have tagged but we don’t,” Schulte said.
Trailing by two runs, Noguera (13-1) sat down the side in order in the fourth and finished up by sitting down the final eight batters he faced for the win.
“We came over here knowing that their No. 1 was good. We expected the beating,” Schulte said. “But bottom line, we have to win two games, so we didn’t get one today and have to win two tomorrow.”
Though the runs didn’t come late for the Ships, their defense had some defensive gems starting with Traylor’s diving catch in the fifth. That same inning, Saucedo made a nice snag of a shot to first base, and Simmons caught a difficult low liner.
“I thought that in the third and fourth inning we turned it around. We had lost momentum but kind of evened it out,” Schulte said.
Traylor is expected to take the mound for the second game for the Exporters.
“We think our No. 2 is better than anybody’s, and we think our No. 3 is better than anybody’s,” Schulte said.
Noguera finished with a two-hitter and six strikeouts, while losing pitcher McIntyre had a strikeout, gave up three hits and issued three walks.
The top three hitters in the lineup for the Exporters were 0-for-9 at the plate.
There is a flash flood watch for the San Antonio area today through Sunday.
SAN ANTONIO — Early jitters cost the Brazosport Exporters on the scoreboard as they dropped the first game of the Class 4A Region IV semifinal baseball series to Hidalgo, 2-0, on Friday at Dickson Stadium at St. Mary’s University.
Brazosport (20-11) will have to sweep a doubleheader today to stay alive as both teams come back for a 2 p.m. first pitch at St. Mary’s University.
“They won one inning, but their kid competed well on the mound,” Brazosport coach Kenneth Schulte said. “I thought we got good swings the first five innings, but I thought we pressed in the sixth and seventh and didn’t get very good swings.”
That second frame proved to be the difference for the Pirates. But in the top half of that frame, the Exporters were looking at a scoring situation with runners on the corners and no outs, but came away empty.
Jay Hernandez led off with a single to left field and was replaced on the bases by pinch-runner Jeremiah Credit. A wild pitch and passed ball to Aaron McIntyre moved Credit all the way to third base. He was soon joined on the basepaths by McIntyre who drew a walk from Oscar Noguera.
With leading hitter Michael Traylor (.346) at the plate, the Ships were hoping to take the early lead, but on an 0-1 count Traylor missed the pitch on a suicide squeeze as Credit made it more than halfway down the line before he was tagged out at home.
Noguera then struck out Traylor and Joshua Luna to get out of the inning unscathed.
With the Pirates up to bat in the same frame, leadoff batter Michael Alvarez reached when second baseman Jacob Lerma booted Alvarez’s grounder.
Senior Adrian Ruiz (2-for-3) came up with one out and tripled to the left-field gap and the Pirates took a 1-0 lead. On the same play, shortstop Travis Simmons threw to third base trying to get Ruiz, but the ball wound up in the Exporter dugout, allowing Ruiz to score.
“He (McIntyre) made an 0-2 mistake, and in the same inning we don’t convert an out on a ground ball to second,” Schulte said. “And on the 0-2, the kid hits it to the fence and we throw it and the third baseman lets it go between his legs. When you miss a ball at third, it is a run.”
The Exporters got another scoring opportunity in the third inning when senior Al Amador laced a shot to left field with one out, then stole second base. Simmons lined a hard shot to right field, which was snagged, but at the sound of the crack of the bat, Amador took off for third base and was easily doubled off to end the inning.
“Squeeze and we didn’t get the bunt down, then we have a runner at second with one out and they get a fly ball behind us, we should have tagged but we don’t,” Schulte said.
Trailing by two runs, Noguera (13-1) sat down the side in order in the fourth and finished up by sitting down the final eight batters he faced for the win.
“We came over here knowing that their No. 1 was good. We expected the beating,” Schulte said. “But bottom line, we have to win two games, so we didn’t get one today and have to win two tomorrow.”
Though the runs didn’t come late for the Ships, their defense had some defensive gems starting with Traylor’s diving catch in the fifth. That same inning, Saucedo made a nice snag of a shot to first base, and Simmons caught a difficult low liner.
“I thought that in the third and fourth inning we turned it around. We had lost momentum but kind of evened it out,” Schulte said.
Traylor is expected to take the mound for the second game for the Exporters.
“We think our No. 2 is better than anybody’s, and we think our No. 3 is better than anybody’s,” Schulte said.
Noguera finished with a two-hitter and six strikeouts, while losing pitcher McIntyre had a strikeout, gave up three hits and issued three walks.
The top three hitters in the lineup for the Exporters were 0-for-9 at the plate.
There is a flash flood watch for the San Antonio area today through Sunday.