VICTORIA — Sharyland High was in control for six innings and 18 defensive outs during Game 1 of its Class 5A Regional Semifinal on Friday at Riverside Park in Victoria against Kerrville Tivy. The last three outs, however, were the hardest to record.
Tivy made its push in the top of the seventh with three runs to come from behind and stun Sharyland, 4-3.
Veteran Rattlers coach Barton Bickerton and his club were visibly disappointed after seeing a 3-1 lead turn into a deficit heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Shary starter Andy Lozano pitched the entire game and was tagged with the tough-luck loss. He threw 85 pitches, surrendered four runs (three earned) and struck out six.
Tivy used three consecutive hits — a single by Colten Drake, a triple off the bat of Cooper Duennenberg and a single by Stoney Rhodes to level the game at 3-3.
That’s when disaster struck. With two outs and a slumping three-hole hitter at the plate, a routine fly ball to first base was misplayed. The pop-up dropped in fair territory by Martin Vazquez and the go-ahead run crossed the plate.
“I don’t know how many positives we had, we didn’t come through when we needed to,” Sharyland coach Barton Bickerton said. “You just have to erase it. There’s nothing else you can do about it right now. We can’t play that last inning again. I wish we could but we can’t. Just got to erase it and try to jump on them early tomorrow.”
Sharyland built the lead with two runs in the second inning. Diego Pena hit an RBI single with the bases loaded before Tivy starting pitcher Brady Delgado was called for a bases-loaded balk to make the score 2-0.
Despite giving up two runs, it might have been the most important defensive inning for the Antlers. Delgado responded with by forcing a double play up the middle to shortstop Cole Miears.
In the matchup between crafty pitchers, Tivy coach Chris Russ said his man earned the edge thanks to a resilient demeanor.
“He’s been our guy all year, he’s got good stuff,” Russ said. “Tonight, he was a little off, he was a little bit wilder than normal. He just kept battling though, he never let them get the big inning.”
Two runs were the most Shary scored at once. The third run came off the bat of Vazquez who hit a bloop single to score pinch-runner Alvaro Islas.
Bickerton gave his pitcher credit as well. He was unsuitable for parts of the middle innings, especially prior to Miears solo home run in the third to cut the Shary lead to 2-1.
In the fourth inning, he dazzled. He needed just nine pitches to record three strikeouts, a rare ‘immaculate inning’ to strike out the side.
“He dominated through the middle innings,” Bickerton said. “They were hitting him hard to begin with, they had the home run. He dominated through the middle inning, he hurt his foot though. The last three innings he was hurt, he’s just a battler.”
Sharyland will need to respond after a tough loss but just last week they were in a similar position in the Valley. After falling in game one to La Joya Palmview the Rattlers won two Saturday contests to survive the regional quarterfinal round.
“You just got to be positive tomorrow,” Bickerton said. The only way you can erase something like that is to think positive, try to make good things happen. We lost 1-0 in nine innings and turned it around the next two. We’ll be alright tomorrow. The big thing is to get out on them early and not have any more momentum than what they have right now.”
Senior Ivan Alvarez is expected to throw for Sharyland tomorrow, while Tivy has options. Miears closed the game after Delgado reached his pitch limit but lefty Drake Colten also has started for the Antlers in the postseason.
Game 2 is set for a 3 p.m. first-pitch from Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi. If Sharyland can extend the series, game 3 will take place 30-minutes later.