Apaches Fall Short Of Return To Series
By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer
MCKINNEY — Tyler Junior College head coach Jon Groth refused to second-guess the decision to start Braeden Lawhon on the mound Sunday.
Staff Writer
MCKINNEY — Tyler Junior College head coach Jon Groth refused to second-guess the decision to start Braeden Lawhon on the mound Sunday.
Lawhon, who came in with three starts and 30 conference innings, recorded only two outs in the first as Richland scored five runs on its way to a 12-3 win that sent the Thunderducks to the NJCAA Division III World Series.
Richland clinched its first national tournament berth since 2005 by going 3-0 in the District C Tournament at Gabe Nesbitt Field. The national tourney is May 17-22 at Mike Carter Field.
The Apaches took the same path last year and went on to capture a national championship, but TJC lost Friday night and was trying to battle back through the loser’s bracket.
TJC needed two wins over Richland on Sunday to win the district tournament, but it never got that far.
Groth said he thought Lawhon could produce similar results to last year’s championship game when Matt Kinard pitched 3 1-3 scoreless innings against Richland.
Instead, the freshman right-hander walked two and hit two more in the top of the first after Leighton Rush led off with a flare single that looked harmless initially.
Catcher Kegan Johnson also allowed a passed ball for a run, and No. 9 hitter Jeff Sakowski drove in a pair with a single to make it 5-0.
“They were better than us today,” Groth said. “We didn’t have any room for error and they did. They played loose, and the five-spot was a big thing for them to get loosened up. We still were very confident in our dugout well through the game just because we knew we could swing it.”
Freshman Colby Welsh hit two solo home runs for the Apaches, who loaded the bases in the fourth but did not score. In that inning, Mike McCollum doubled, Welsh walked and Clint Stroud singled, but then Steven Headley grounded into a double play to end the threat.
“That double play was huge, that was the turning point in the game,” Groth said. “If we score some runs there, I think it’s a totally different type of game. At the very least, we close the gap and they don’t relax. They’re a team that when they’re relaxed and swinging it, they’re dangerous.”
Sophomore left-hander Jay Haak held the dangerous Richland lineup in check through the middle innings, and the Apaches missed by a foot or two chopping the deficit to two runs in the seventh.
TJC was trailing 7-2 when Jordon Vierra hit a double off the top of the fence in left. Instead of a three-run homer, only Johnson scored on the play. Pinch-hitter Matt Johnson, from Grand Saline, followed with another deep fly to left that was caught on the warning track for the third out.
Richland right-hander Landon Patterson, who beat the Apaches on April 26 in Tyler, pitched his seventh complete game of the season. He scattered 10 hits, struck out four and walked two.
“He does a good job keeping hitters off balance with his curveball, and then he throws a changeup,” said Richland head coach Joe Wharton. “His fastball is not overpowering. I felt good coming in because he threw well against (TJC the last time).”
Smoke Signals:
Balls were flying out of the park all weekend at Gabe Nesbitt Field, where the wind was blowing out to certain parts. The Apaches hit 10 home runs in four tournament games. Richland hit four homers in Sunday’s game, all in the last five innings, to finish with nine in three games. ... On Mother’s Day, a group of Apache Moms surprised the mother of the late Payton Diers with flowers in the seventh inning. Payton, a member of the TJC baseball team, died in the fall after an automobile accident.
Balls were flying out of the park all weekend at Gabe Nesbitt Field, where the wind was blowing out to certain parts. The Apaches hit 10 home runs in four tournament games. Richland hit four homers in Sunday’s game, all in the last five innings, to finish with nine in three games. ... On Mother’s Day, a group of Apache Moms surprised the mother of the late Payton Diers with flowers in the seventh inning. Payton, a member of the TJC baseball team, died in the fall after an automobile accident.
NJCAA District C
Baseball Tournament
At McKinney
Baseball Tournament
At McKinney
Championship Round
Richland 12, Tyler 3
Richland 500 010 123 — 12 14 0
Richland 12, Tyler 3
Richland 500 010 123 — 12 14 0
Tyler 010 001 100 — 3 10 1
Landon Patterson and Sean Ablett. Braeden Lawhon, Jay Haak (1), Brandyn Greer (5) and Kegan Johnson. W — Patterson (9-4); L — Lawhon (1-1). 2B — RC: Jeff Sakowski, Robert Barbosa; TJC: Davis Page 2, Mike McCollum, Johnson, Jordon Vierra. HR — RC: Ablett (solo, fifth inning), Josh Christenson (solo, seventh inning), Jeff Sakowski (solo, ninth inning), Leighton Rush (solo, ninth inning); TJC: Colby Welsh 2 (solo, second inning; solo, sixth inning). SF — RC: Jon Masch. SB — RC: Barbosa.
Landon Patterson and Sean Ablett. Braeden Lawhon, Jay Haak (1), Brandyn Greer (5) and Kegan Johnson. W — Patterson (9-4); L — Lawhon (1-1). 2B — RC: Jeff Sakowski, Robert Barbosa; TJC: Davis Page 2, Mike McCollum, Johnson, Jordon Vierra. HR — RC: Ablett (solo, fifth inning), Josh Christenson (solo, seventh inning), Jeff Sakowski (solo, ninth inning), Leighton Rush (solo, ninth inning); TJC: Colby Welsh 2 (solo, second inning; solo, sixth inning). SF — RC: Jon Masch. SB — RC: Barbosa.
RECORDS — Richland, 38-21; Tyler, 32-21.
NEXT UP — Richland advances to the NJCAA Division III World Series, May 17-22, Tyler’s Mike Carter Field.
NEXT UP — Richland advances to the NJCAA Division III World Series, May 17-22, Tyler’s Mike Carter Field.
EST. ATT. — 250.
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