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Box Score 3 Goodwell, Okla.—Solid pitching and strong defensive play kept the Aggies in play throughout the weekend's three-game series with Adams State. A neck-and-neck seven-inning shootout in game one ended with a 3-1 win for the Grizzlies, and two extra-inning outings resulted in split victories with Adams State claiming game two 5-2 and the Aggies taking game three 5-4 in eleven.
A gusty weekend with high winds kept most of the action inside the diamond for a majority of infield plays. The Aggies fielded three double plays and went four of six on stolen base attempts over the three-game stint. Adams got away with ten stolen bases and held the Aggies to a batting average of .250 and a .260 slugging percentage for the series. The two teams combined for 13 errors; Panhandle with seven and Adams State with six.
Saturday's first matchup brought senior Sam Beattie to the mound for the Aggies. Beattie lasted 6.0 innings, holding the Grizzlies hitless through their first two sessions at bat. Adams got off two hits each in the third and fourth innings, but with zero runs scored. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Aggies' designated hitter
Brendan O'Flynn drove a double with the wind through right field. O'Flynn advanced to third on a single from first baseman
Chase Graf, and crossed home on a follow-up single by third baseman
Juan Rubayo. Panhandle held a 1-0 lead going into the fifth inning.
Adams State batters found gaps in the top of the fifth, sending two singles down each side and a two-run double to left field edging a 2-1 lead. With two runners still on base, Beattie threw a swinging strikeout and a ground ball to end the inning. Panhandle put one runner on base in the bottom of the fifth, but failed to score remaining down by one run heading into the sixth inning. A single and a sac-bunt put the Grizzlies' leadoff hitter on second base; an ensuing wild pitch and fielder's choice play punched in one more run for the visiting team. The Aggies' lone runner in the bottom of the sixth was picked-off at first, leaving the Grizzlies ahead 3-1 with the final inning in sight. Senior
Logan Litton entered for Beattie in the seventh and allowed one hit before putting down the next three batters with a fly out, strikeout and groundout. Beattie took the loss and now holds a 1-4 record on the season.
Leading out of the bullpen in game two for the Aggies was junior
Adrian Lopez. Lopez handled hitters for seven innings, allowing just two runs to the Grizzles with eight hits and eight strikeouts on his watch. The Aggies added their first run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by
Tiler Fletcher. After a scoreless sixth for both sides, catcher
Dehryen Noriega held the score at 2-1 with a great play on a foul ball that left two Adams runners on base in the seventh. Panhandle's left fielder
Chris Schraer opened with a single in the bottom of the inning and advanced two extra bases on an error by the Grizzlies' center fielder. A wild pitch sent Schraer home to tie the game at 2-2. Zero runs in the eighth and ninth brought the game into extra innings.
Corey Ley put in one inning for the Aggies in the eighth, and
Zane Grigsby came in in the ninth with one runner on base. Grigsby faced seven batters over 1.1 innings walking the leadoff hitter in the tenth. A sac-bunt and an RBI single brought in one run for the Grizzlies, followed by a passed ball and RBI triple, which prompted a pitching change for Panhandle.
Dallas Guerrero took over on the mound with a man on third who would score a third run on a single. The Aggies left two on base in the tenth giving Grigsby the loss in game two.
Another windy day on Sunday made for another defensive showdown between the two teams. The Aggies got on the board first, as
Nate Kelly led off with a single in the second inning. Kelly scored after taking two stolen bases on a walked batter and a swinging strikeout. Starting pitcher Tristen Hubler held the Grizzlies to five hits and zero runs through the fifth inning. Adams State tied the game at one with the help of an Aggie error in the top of the sixth. The game remained tied with each team scoring two runs in the seventh evening the score at 3-3.
Jerald Gaskin relieved Hubler with two outs in the top of the inning and picked off the runner at second for the third out. Leading off for the Aggies in the bottom of the seventh,
Derek Stallworth walked to base on balls, advanced to second on an error and stole third. An RBI bunt single by Fletcher brought Stallworth through, and Fletcher later scored on a single by
Joseph Cerda.
Gaskin remained on the mound for two innings allowing just one hit and zero runs.
Logan Litton entered for the Aggies with runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth. Litton walked one, but got the swinging strikeout to save the inning and extend the game. Zero runs scored through the tenth, but Litton let one runner come through in the 11th, giving up three singles to load the bases.
Hunter Hand came in to close for Panhandle and held the game at 4-3 with the Grizzlies on top. Hit by a pitch, the Aggies's leadoff hitter
Quinn O'Neill took first, followed up by Fletcher who reached base on a successful bunt. A sac-bunt by Noriega pushed the runners up and a patient eye by Cerda loaded the bases with a walk on one out. The next batter up was senior catcher
B.J. Henry who slapped a two-run single into right field for the walk-off win. Henry was one of five at the plate for the day, bringing his bat at just the right time.
For the weekend, Panhandle batters totaled 25 hits with just one going for extra bases, the double by O'Flynn in game one. Fletcher led the team with four hits over nine at bats, and Cerda led the Aggies in total bases with five. Adams State totaled 34 hits with two doubles and two triples over three-games; the Grizzlies finished with a .306 batting average and .360 slugging percentage as a team. The Aggie pitching crew averaged a 2.57 ERA, with Adams averaging 2.30 on the mound.
The Aggies' head coach
Jason Miner stated, "It was good to come back on Sunday and get the win. Saturday was a tough couple of games, but we knew that if our guys would stay in the game and believe that we can win, we would." He continued saying, "After Adams took the lead in the 11
th, our guys didn't get their heads down and they believed we would win the game; I'm proud of them for that. Hopefully we can keep the same attitude the rest of the season and get on a roll."
Panhandle State Baseball owns a 4-12 record thus far with a rivalry game against Northwestern Oklahoma State coming up on Tuesday. The Aggies will then compete in a four-day tournament in Tucson, Ariz. March 11-14 before returning to open Heartland Conference play at home March 17-18 versus Newman.
