The Springlake-Earth Wolverines won a thriller over the Crosbyton Chieftains on Friday, as they walkedit off with a, 16-15, victory at Wolverine Baseball Field.
With the win, the Wolverines are 21 in district play on the year.
Dylan Doss singled up the middle to open the first inning hitting for Crosbyton and he took second on a past ball before Marcos Guerrero ripped a double over Alex Alvarez in center field to put the Chieftains in front, 1-0. Michael Reyes singled on an error by Tim Tovar at first base, putting runners on the corners for Crosbyton and a few pitches later, Reyes stole second on a past ball.
Jeremy Cantu was thrown out at first by Tyler Tanaro on a dropped third strike, but a run scored and Reyes advanced to third with Crosbyton up, 2-0, with one out. Marco Reyna was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners for the Chieftains, but Xavyer Mosqueda got Matthew Guerrero to strike out looking for out number two and he got David Scott to ground out to Slade Beerwinkle at shortstop to retire the side.
Beerwinkle got the Wolverines going with a single over third base, but was thrown out by Scott in left field trying to stretch it into a double for out number one. Braden Bradley drew a walk and took second on a pitch before Alex Alvarez singled on an error by Matthew Guerrero at third base. Bradley took third on the throw to first, putting runners on the corners for Springlake-Earth. Mosqueda drew a walk to load the bases, but Froyland Agundiz struck out looking for out number two.
Tanaro ripped a three-RBI triple under the glove of the center fielder to put the Wolverines in front, 3-2, and Tanaro scored on a passed ball before Tovar struck out swinging to end the inning, as the Wolverines took a, 4-2, lead into the second inning.
Josiah Vega hit a chopper to Beerwinkle at shortstop and was able to beat the throw to first to give Crosbyton a base runner. He stole second on a past ball, before Julian Savedra struck out swinging for out number one. Doss drew a walk and Marcos Guerrero followed it up with an RBI-single to left field on an error by Donovan Stiggers, trimming the Springlake-Earth lead to, 4-3.
Reyes hit a sacrifice grounder to Bradley at second base, who got the out at first, as a run scored and a runner moved over to third with the score tied, 4-4. Cantu hit an RBI single up the middle to put Crosbyton back in front, 5-4, before Reyna struck out swinging to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the second inning, Matt Garza lined out to Richard Vega in center field for out number one, but Stiggers and Beerwinkle were both hit by a pitch to put two runners on, as Doss relieved Reyes on the mound for Crosbyton. Bradley hit a sacrifice grounder to Cantu at first to advance the runners with two outs. Alvarez hit a fly ball to left field that was dropped by Scott allowing two runs to score, putting the Wolverines back in front, 6-5.
Mosqueda hit an RBI-double over the left fielder to extend their lead to, 7-5, before Agundiz grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Matthew Guerrero singled up the middle on an error by Bradley and Scott was hit by a pitch, before Vega hit an RBIsingle to right-center field, but Scott was tagged out by Garza in a rundown between second and third for out number one, with the lead cut to, 7-6. Savedra drew a walk and the runners advanced on a past ball and a run scored on a throw into left field by Tanaro to tie the game, 7-7.
Savedra took third on a past ball, before scoring on a past ball, that put Doss on second, after the ball got stuck under the backstop, putting the Chieftains up, 8-7. Beerwinkle relieved Mosqueda on the mound and walked Reyes and Cantu to load the bases, before getting Reyna to ground out to the mound to retire the side.
In the bottom of the third, Tanaro drew a lead-off walk and took second and third on pitches before Tovar struck out swinging for out number one. Tanaro scored on a past ball to Garza to tie the game, 8-8, before Garza lined out to Savedra at second base for out number two. Stiggers would strike out swinging to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth, Crosbyton opened the inning with back-to-back walks by Adam Barela and Scott, before Vega singled to right field to load the bases. Savedra singled on a fielder’s choice to Bradley at second base to tried to go to second for the force out, but the flip to Agundiz was off the mark, putting Crosbyton back in front, 9-8.
Doss drew an RBI walk to extend the lead to, 10-8, as Garza relieved Beerwinkle on the mound for the Wolverines. Marcos Guerrero hit a two-RBI single through the right side, but was tagged out at second by Agundiz, as another run scored to extend their lead to, 13-8. Reyes drew a walk for Crosbyton and Cantu was hit by a pitch and the runners took second and third on a past ball, before Reyna beat out an infield single to Agundiz at shortstop, bringing another run across to extend their lead to, 14-8.
Garza would recover, as he got Barela to strike out looking and got Scott to strike out swinging to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Beerwinkle doubled over the left fielder to lead things off and Bradley made it to first on a dropped third strike that rolled to the backstop, moving Beerwinkle over to third. Alvarez laid an RBI-bunt down the third-base line that was bobbled by Doss, trimming the lead to, 14-9.
Mosqueda ripped an RBI-double under the glove of the shortstop to make the score, 14-10, and Agundiz followed it up with an RBI-single to left field to cut the lead to, 14-11. Agundiz took second on a pitch, before Tanaro and Tovar both struck out swinging to give the Wolverines two outs. Garza had a fly ball fall in rightcenter field to drive in another run and make it a one-run game, before Stiggers struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Wolverines kept the Chieftains quiet in the top of the fifth inning, and in the bottom half of the side, Beerwinkle trippled on an error by Scott in center field to lead things off for the Wolverines. Bradley hit an RBIsingle to right field to tie the game, 1414. Alvarez flew out to center field for out number one, before Reyes relieved Doss on the mound for Crosbyton.
Mosqueda popped up to shallow left-center field, but the ball was dropped by Doss to give the Wolverines another base runner. Agundiz struck out swinging for out number two, but Tanaro and Tovar were hit by pitches on back-to-back plays to put Springlake-Earth back in front, 1514. Garza would ground out to Scott at third to end the inning.
Crosbyton tied the game in the top of the sixth, and both teams were kept quiet until the bottom of the seventh. Bam Marquez relieved Reyes on the mound for the Chieftains, as Alvarez drew a lead-off walk for the Wolverines. Mosqueda followed it up with a walk-off RBI single to the center-field fence, as the Wolverines took the district match-up, 16-15, to even the season series with the Chieftains.
Mosqueda pitched 3.1 innings for the Wolverines as he started and closed the game, giving up eight runs, one earned, and three walks, while earning five strike outs. Beerwinkle pitched 0.2 innings giving up give runs and five walks, while Garza pitched two innings giving up two runs and two walks, while earning three strike outs and Agundiz pitched one inning earning two strike outs, while giving up one walk.
The Wolverines will take on Jayton in Earth on Friday for their first meeting of district play with the Jaybirds. First pitch is scheduled for noon.