Rusk Eagles Ballpark on Thursday, May 9, 2024 –
The Shelbyville Dragons varsity baseball team took a 6-4 run win over the Jewett Leon Cougars in a best-of-three game Area Round series in the Texas UIL State Baseball Playoffs. Game 2 will play out on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at Rusk ISD.
The Dragons trailed the Cougars early by a 4-0 score which held up until Shelbyville rallied in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Dragons scored when DJ Barnes led off the inning by singling to the leftfield wall and he scored when Dallas Murry hit an RBI Double off the leftfield wall to cut the Cougar lead to 4-1. A double to left by Dylan Parker scored Murry and made the score 4-2. Moments later Hunter Harvey laid down a pinpoint bunt which scored Cam Mason to cut the Cougar’s lead to 4-3. Dylan Parker alertly scored on a passed ball near the end of the fifth inning, when a pitch went wild to the backstop, and the game was tied 4-4 run going into the sixth inning.
Leon’s Taylor Evans led off the sixth inning with a double to rightfield but the Dragons rallied defensively to retire the next three batters with two strikeouts by Weston Frick and a runner interference call.
Frick and Barnes scored for SHS in the bottom of the sixth frame to give the Dragons a 6-4 run advantage and Dallas Murry came in to relieve Frick in the top of the seventh inning.
The Cougars got a single to leftfield from Brock Bumpurs in the final at-bat but the Dragons retired the final three batters of the game on a strikeout by Murry and two groundouts to Parker at shortstop.
Weston Frick struck out ten batters, gave up four hits and walked five in the Dragons win. Dallas Murry pitched one complete inning striking out one, giving up one hit and he gave up no runs or walks in relief.
Brock Bumpurs took the loss for the Cougars, he surrendered six hits, struck out three and walked two in six innings.
