April 4, 2016 - After days of rain and two cancellations the Panola Ponies and Navarro Bulldogs finally squared off in their first conference meeting of the year. Panola would take game one 13-8. Navarro would respond by winning game two 16-8. And Panola would go on the road to beat Navarro in Corsicana to take the rubber game 8-4 for a dramatic come from behind victory.
With the wins Panola extends there regular season record to 26-10 and 8-7 in Region-14 conference play.
Game #1
The teams traded runs for most of the contest, leading to three lead changes in the game. Panola took the lead in the fourth inning and held on for the victory. A three-run error scored Colby Price (Nederland, TX) and Austin Sojka (Huntington Beach, CA) gave Panola the lead for good. Sojka racked up five RBIs on three hits for Panola. He singled in the first inning, doubled in the fourth inning, and hit a grand slam homer in the fifth inning. Tyler Powell (Silsbee, TX) recorded the win for Panola. He allowed two runs over 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two, walked one and surrendered three hits. The bottom of the first saw Panola take an early lead, 2-0. Panola got things going when Price singled. A single by Sojka then moved Price from first to second. Logan Bailey (Hallsville, TX) doubled, bringing home Price. The scoreboard lit up again for Panola when Sojka scored on a fielder's choice. Navarro had their big inning in the top of the third scoring four runs of their own. Panola would quickly respond in the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of four run rallies. Navarro never threatened after the fourth inning as Panola pitching shut down the Bulldog bats only allowing 1 hit the final three frames.
Game #2
Eleven hits weren't enough for Panola as it lost a shootout, 16-8 in seven innings, Logan Bailey (Hallsville, TX) racked up two RBIs on one swing for Panola. He homered in the sixth inning. Taylor Tomlin (Center, TX) couldn't get it done on the rubber for Panola, taking a loss. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings, walked none, struck out none, and allowed four runs. Navarro never trailed after scoring eight runs in the second on a fielder's choice, a sacrifice fly by Channey, and two singles. Two runs in the bottom of the fourth helped Panola close its deficit to 9-6. A two-run single by Chandler Morris (The Woodlands, TX) gave Panola a little life. But that would be as close as it would get for Panola. Navarro piled on six more runs in the top of the fifth. Dejuses kicked things off with a single, plating Martin. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth helped Panola close its deficit to 16-8.
Game #3
With the score tied at four in the fifth inning, Jordan Gore (Silsbee, TX) came to the plate and hit into a fielder's choice, bringing home Austin Sojka (Huntington Beach, CA). Gore racked up two RBIs on one hit for Panola. Jansen McCurdy (White Oak, TX) reached base four times in the game for Panola. He singled in the first and third innings. Christian Cuevas (Bayamon, PR) looked sharp on the bump. Cuevas gave up just three hits, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out two during his four innings of work in relief collecting his fourth win of the season. The bottom of the first saw Navarro take an early lead, 4-0. Martin singled to ignite Navarro 's offense. More runs came home for Navarro when Martin scored on an RBI single by Adams, Dejuses scored on an RBI single by Salazar, and Adams scored on an RBI single by Lewis. For the second day in row Panola found themselves down but not out as the Ponies would put up a 5 run inning in the fifth. Landon Marshall (Huntington Beach, CA) would single followed by Chandler Morris (The Woodlands, TX) sacrifice bunt. Chad McKinney (Hughes Springs, TX) then doubled to followed by Colby Price (Nederland, TX) that scored one. McCurdy would get hit by a pitch that lead to Austin Sojka’s (Huntington Beach, CA) base on ball. Logan Bailey Hallsville, TX) would hit a missile up the middle scoring two runs. The inning finally came to an end when Jordan Gore (Silsbee, TX) drove in Hector Morales (Royal Palm Beach, FL) capping off a 5 run inning and spelling defeat for Navarro. Panola tacked on another two more runs in the ninth. The inning looked promising, as Gore tripled, plating Bailey to kick things off. That was followed up by Morales 's single, scoring Gore.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved."
