Panola drops home doubleheader to Hill College
Longview News Journal
Sunday, February 04, 2007
CARTHAGE — Panola's bats woke up in time to get the Ponies back into contention for the second game of a baseball doubleheader at Jim Reeves Memorial Field on Saturday. But the late push was not enough to overcome a 10th-inning burst by Hill College, which won the second game 10-7 to complete a sweep.
Panola, which trailed 7-3 after five innings, got a two-run homer from Jared Wondra in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 7-7. But after a scoreless ninth, Hunter Nolen led off the Hill College 10th with a single, and was then bunted to second by Michael Sadler. With two outs, a throwing error plated Nolen and moved Preston McCoy to second, giving Hill an 8-7 lead.
Two pitches later, Leo Garcia jumped on an 0-1 pitch for a two-run home run to deep left field, giving Hill its three-run victory margin. Aaron Varnum retired Panola in order in the bottom of the 10th.
For Panola (1-2), Wondra was 1-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk. Dustin McCandless went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in the third, finishing with three RBIs, two runs scored and a double.
Both teams used four pitchers, but neither starter reached the fifth inning. Panola starter Clayton McMillan pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Hill's Corey Brown also pitched four innings, giving up three runs while striking out one.
Cory Williams shouldered the loss, giving up the three go-ahead runs in the 10th inning after yielding none in the eighth and ninth innings. Karlo Berrios, who blew a save opportunity when he gave up the two-run Wondra homer, got the win. Berrios threw a perfect, eight-pitch bottom of the ninth.
Hill College 2, Panola 0
A pitcher's duel went in Hill College's favor in the first game as Jeff Sciba pitched five complete innings, allowing no runs and only two hits as Hill notched a 2-0 win.
Sciba did not record a strikeout, but nine of the 15 outs he registered came on ground balls. Julio Barrajas pitched the final two innings, striking out one while allowing no base runners to record the save.
Panola's Chad Sherman was on the losing end of the pitching matchup, but matched Sciba's five innings of work. Sherman allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking three.
Sherman worked his way out of a third-inning jam, however Sherman and the Ponies weren't as lucky in the top of the fourth. Nelson Gaston led off with a walk, and Kyle Bondy followed with a towering bloop single deep down the right-field line. James Kissinger then sacrifice bunted the pair over, and Nick Paschal hit an RBI-groundout to second to score Gaston. Three pitches later, a wild pitch plated Bondy before Sherman could record his fifth strikeout to end the inning with Hill leading 2-0.
Panola loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Tyler Alston grounded into a 5-2 fielder's choice, and Manny Kumar ended the inning with a flyout down the left-field line.
Bondy went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a run scored, while McCoy was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Luis Alicea was 2-for-3 with a double for Panola, getting the Ponies' only two hits of the game.
White Oak freshman Scott Copeland pitched the sixth and seventh innings for Panola. Copeland gave up one hit and struck out one.
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