WOS 0 0 1 0 3 0 0- 4
LCM 1 0 1 0 0 0 1- 3
Colder weather accompanied by a north wind moved through the area Friday, but that north wind helped keep the West Orange-Stark Mustangs baseball team hot and undefeated in district play. The Mustangs hung on to beat the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears 4-3 at Don Gibbens Field.
With the tying run at second base and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Michael Lee of the Bears hit a fly ball to dead center field. Mustangs’ centerfielder Blake Robinson may have felt a cold chill go up his back when the ball left the bat. Robinson then ran and put his back against the fence as he caught the ball for the final out to preserve the West Orange-Stark win. How much the ball was held up by the north wind blowing in is hard to judge, but the prevailing wind at Gibbens Field is usually from the south and blows straight out to center field.
That what if followed another big one that was only inches from being a game changer. On the previous pitch Lee lined a shot down the left field line that would have easily scored Grant White from second with the tying run. The ball hooked foul by inches. LC-M Coach Steve Griffith in the third base coaching box had maybe the best view, and he admitted it was foul by no more than the width of the baseball.
The Bears clawed back to within one run in the seventh with walks to Mitchel Lee and White against Mustangs’ starter Payton Robertson. Coach Shea Landry relieved Robertson with Ryan Ragsdale. After striking out Peyton Choate for the second out, Ragsdale with Michael Lee batting picked off pinch runner Kade Bland at second base. During the subsequent run down Robertson now playing shortstop struck Bland in the back with a throw and the ball caromed down the left field line allowing Bland to come all the way home and score making it 4-3. That is as close as the Bears would get despite the two close calls.
LC-M got a much needed strong pitching performance from Mitchel Lee. He went five innings yielding just four hits and four runs, but all the runs were unearned. The Bears committed five errors leading to all of the Mustangs’ runs.
In the bottom of the first the Bears scored to take the initial lead. Drake Trawhon led off with a walk. He went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a perfect sacrifice by Vinny Hale. Mitchel Lee drove Trawhon home with the first run of the game on a base hit to right.
The Mustangs tied the game in the third. Robertson singled to center with one out. After Robertson stole second base K. J. Miller was safe on an error by the right fielder putting Mustangs at first and third. Jack Dallas hit into a fielder’s choice scoring Robertson, and Jack advanced to second when the throw trying to get the double play was wild. Dallas was stranded there when Ragsdale hit a comebacker to Lee on the mound.
It did not take long for the Bears to regain the lead as they scored in the bottom half of the third. Trawhon led off with a double to left field. Hale once again laid down a beautiful bunt to get Drake to third. He scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of LC-M.
That lead lasted until the Mustangs’ batted in the fifth. Lee struck out the first batter and appeared to have struck out Robertson for the second out, but the third strike got away from catcher White whose throw to first hit Robertson in the back allowing him to reach first safely and then advance to second base. Miller singled to left sending Robertson to third, and K. J. advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Both Robertson and Miller scored when Jack Dallas’ fly to right was dropped by Truman Franklin.
Ragsdale walked, and Chad Dallas reached on a little dribbler in front of the plate when Mitchel Lee slipped coming off the mound to field it and only made contact with his shoe on the ball. On a no balls two strike pitch B. B. Tezeno was hit in the shoulder or upper back and that brought home Jack Dallas with the third run of the inning to make the score 4-2 the Mustangs on top.
Robertson got the win for the Mustangs and improves to 3-1 on the season. Ragsdale earned his first save. Mitchel Lee took the tough luck loss for the Bears.
With the win West Orange-Stark remains undefeated in district at 5-0. The Mustangs conclude the opening half of district next Tuesday at home against the Silsbee Tigers. Little Cypress-Mauriceville drops to 1-4 with the loss. The Bears wrap up the first half of district at Orangefield Tuesday night.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Social Media