Tigers prepare for baseball playoffs
Junior catcher Caden Bennett and the rest of the Wills Point Tigers are scheduled to take on Crandall in a best-of-three series to determine the bi-district championship.
The Wills Point Tigers wrapped up District 14-4A a little earlier than anticipated, with a district closing game against Canton originally scheduled to be played April 29 never materializing due to the area’s most recent bout of rain.
Without the game being played, final District 14-4A standings include Brownsboro in first with a 10-2 record overall, Wills Point in second with a 7-4 record, Canton in third with a 6-5 record, Van in the fourth and final playoff spot with a 5-7 record and Emory Rains in last with a 1-11 record. The Bears, Tigers, Eagles and Vandals will now all continue play into the bi-district round.
Despite the interference from Mother Nature, Wills Point was able to get on the field once over the past week by tangling with the Edgewood Bulldogs.
Edgewood, 3A State Tournament qualifiers in 2015, took early control in their game against Wills Point, scoring an unearned run in both the first and second innings before scoring six runs in the third. The Tigers were never able to overcome the eight run deficit, eventually falling 8-4.
Three Wills Point fielding errors in the first two innings put the Tigers in an early 2-0 deficit. After threatening but not scoring in the third, Wills Point fell into an even deeper deficit courtesy of two bases loaded walks, a two RBI single, and a two RBI double that made the score 8-0.
Wills Point came back to cut the Edgewood lead in half, plating four runs in their half of the fourth inning on a fielding error, a passed ball, an RBI single by Jarred Sanford and a wild pitch.
Neither team could put a tally on the scoreboard the rest of the night, preserving the 8-4 Bulldog victory.
Leading hitters for the Tigers included Jarred Sanford going 2/4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, Seth Wilson going 2/4 with a double and a run scored and Jayton Oldacre going 1/4 with a run scored.
Stat lines for Tiger pitchers in the contest included Kolton Adams going two inning while allowing two unearned runs, Riley Ramsey pitching an inning and surrendering six Bulldog runs, and Tyler James pitching three innings while allowing no hits or runs.
The Wills Point Tigers will now take on the Crandall Pirates in a best-of-three bi-district round playoff series beginning tonight (May 6). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Crandall. Game two will take place in Wills Point beginning at noon on May 7. Game three, if necessary, will follow game two.
Other playoff games of note involving Wills Point’s rivals include Van taking on Athens and Canton taking on Kaufman.
The Vandals are scheduled to play the Athens Hornets in the bi-district round of the playoffs. Athens finished first overall in District 13-4A, posting a 10-1 record overall against Kaufman, Crandall, Mabank and Ferris.
Canton is now scheduled to tangle with the Kaufman Lions beginning May 6 in a best-of-three bi-district round playoff series. Game one will take place in Canton May 6 with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Games two and three (if necessary) are scheduled to be played in Kaufman beginning at 1 p.m. May 7.
