Apaches Split Twin Bill With Weatherford
Article Courtesy of Tyler Morning Telegraph
It was mentor against mentee as Doug Wren and the Tyler Junior College baseball team took on Jeff Lightfoot and the Weatherford College Coyotes at Mike Carter Field on Wednesday night. Wren previously coached with Lightfoot at Weatherford before coming to TJC.
Both teams came away with wins to split the doubleheader.
The Apaches took Game 1 5-2 before the Coyotes prevailed 6-5 in Game 2.
Game 2 was a nail biter and came down to the last out in the last inning. Weatherford jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first, but TJC looked to slowly chip away at that lead over the course of the game.
In the bottom of the second, Reid Russell led off with a walk and two batters later Travis Johnson followed suit to put two Apaches on base. Zane Otten then doubled to left field to bring the pair home, putting the score at 4-2.
The Coyotes looked to extend their lead by scoring two more runs in the top of the fifth. A throwing error allowed Paxton Delagarza to reach safely before Zac Michener was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved the two into scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Bobby Kramer brought in Delagarza while a Taylor Sugar single brought in Michener to put the score at 6-2.
The Apaches started to rally in the bottom of the seventh. Tim Hunter picked up a walk followed by a Brandon Webb single. Justin Monsour drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Anthony Soriano then singled to bring in Hunter and Webb making the score 6-4. A ground out later brought in Monsour but a strikeout and double-play ended the inning.
The drama unfolded in the ninth, with a walk and single putting two Apaches aboard. A fielder's choice left runners on the corners. Despite the chance to tie the game, a strikeout and ground out ended the game.
In the opener, Weatherford put the first run on the board in the top of the second after a pair of doubles brought in Delagarza.
But TJC answered back, plating four in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs, Eric Stegent and Brent Ellerbee drew back-to-back walks to put two runners aboard. Connor Wrye hit a deep single to center field to bring Stegent home and move Ellerbee to third.
Cody Broussard then drew a walk to load the bases for Hunter, who cleared the bases with a double to left field, plating three to make it 4-1.
Hunter was also the first base runner for the Apaches in the fifth and reached third before a Monsour single scored him, putting TJC up 5-1.
Weatherford added a run after Trooper Reynolds doubled, moved to third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch, but the Coyotes were shut down the rest of the way.
TJC next travels to Weatherford to play a two-game series against the Coyotes on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The next home series will be on March 3 against the UT Tyler JV squad.
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