The Littlefield Wildcats’ came up short of forcing a game three with Iowa Park on Saturday, falling in game two to the Hawks, 2-0, in their Class 3A Regional Semi-Final Series.
With the loss, the Wildcats finish the season with an overall mark of 2311.
Major McNeese pitched 5.2 innings in game two, giving up six hits, four walks and no runs, while striking out three batters. Ian Mendez pitched 1.1 innings, giving up one hit, one walk and two runs.
In the top of the first inning, McNeese got Brayden Moreno to ground out to Dawson Adkins at second base and he got CJ McNeill to ground out to him on the mound for out number two. AJ Ramirez singled up the middle, but Decker grounded out to McNeese on the mound to end the inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, McNeese grounded out to Moreno at second base for out number one. Adam MacDonald flew out to Maddox Bernard in right field for out number two and Chip Green lined out to Coyt Schmader in center field to end the inning.
McNeese went back to work on the mound in the second inning, as he got Brayden Holster to fly out to Gabriel Villanueva in left field for out number one. Bernard singled up the middle and Colton Stewart drew a walk. The runners advanced on a passed ball, before McNeese got Jacob Rodriguez to strike out looking for out number two.
Schmader drew a walk to load the bases, but McNeese got Moreno to ground out to Mendez at shortstop to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the second, Jakob Kirkland struck out swinging and Adkins flew out to Rodriguez in left field for out number two. Redman singled on a line drive to center field, but Mendez struck out swinging to end the inning.
McNeill singled on a ground ball to Mendez at shortstop to lead-off the third inning for Iowa Park, but McNeese would get Ramirez to strike out swinging for out number one. Decker grounded out to Adkins at second base, as McNeill advanced to third on the play, but the threat would not come to pass, as Holster popped up to Villanueva in foul territory to retire the side.
The Wildcats had nothing going offensively in the bottom of the third, as Jayden Kirkland struck out swinging and Villanueva struck out looking for two outs. McNeese would pop up to Holster at shortstop to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, Bernard doubled to left field to lead things off for the Hawks, but Stewart flew out to Jakob Kirkland in right field, who then sent a shot to second base for the double play. Rodriguez singled to center field, but he would be caught stealing by Jayden Kirkland, as Mendez was there for the tag at second base to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the fourth, MacDonald laid down a bunt that was fielded by McNeill on the mound and thrown to first for the out. Green flew out to Rodriguez in left field for out number two, but Jakob Kirkland singled on a line drive to left field. He would be stranded, as Adkins grounded out to Holster at shortstop to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, McNeese got Schmader and Moreno to ground out to MacDonald at first base for back-to-back outs. McNeill singled on a ground ball to left field, but Ramirez popped up to McNeese on the mound to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Redman lined out to Schmader in center field for out number one. Mendez drew a walk to give the Wildcats a base runner, but Jayden Kirkland laid down a bunt, that was fielded and thrown to second to get the lead runner for out number two. Villanueva laid down a bunt and was thrown out by McNeill to end the inning.
The game remained a, 0-0, tie until the top of the seventh, when Schmader was hit by a pitch from Mendez to give the Hawks a base runner. Schmader would steal second on a pitch and third on a passed ball, before Moreno walked to put runners on the corners for Iowa Park. McNeill hit a sacrifice fly to McNeese in center field that allowed Schmader to tag-up and score from third, putting the Hawks in front, 1-0. Moreno stole second on a pitch, before Ramirez grounded out Adkins at third base for out number two.
Decker singled to right field, as Moreno scored from second and Decker took second on the throw home, making the score, 2-0. Mendez would get Holster to fly out to McNeese in center field to retire the side.
The Wildcats came to the plate with their season on the line in the bottom of the seventh, as Redman reached on an error by Reed McCalin at first base. Mendez struck out looking for out number one and Cayson Villareal struck out swinging for out number two. Villanueva singled to right field and McNeese drew a walk to load the bases, but MacDonald popped up to Ramirez at third base to end the game, as the Wildcats fell to the Hawks, 2-0.