After long delay, Eagles hold on to nab top seed

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

 

     Somerset -- Monday night, May 3, the Hondo baseball team took on Pleasanton in a battle for the #1 seed from District 29-4A. 

     The game went into a lightning delay after just 11 pitches had been thrown, and didn’t restart until 9:05. Then, all the scoring took place in the first three innings as the Eagles held on for a 6-5 win over the Owls. 

     Hondo (13-13-1 season) is now heading into bi-district as 29-4A co-champs, and as the league’s #2 seed. They’ll face Crystal City, the third seed from 30-4A in a weekend best-of-three series. The opening game is Friday, May 7, 6 p.m., at Crystal’s Tate Field. The series moves to Hondo on Saturday, May 8, for a 10 a.m. start in game 2 at Bridges Field. If a third game is needed, it will be played after the conclusion of game 2.

     On Friday, the final regular season game with Somerset at Bridges Field was rained out. The teams played 2 1/2 innings with the Owls leading 2-1, before the light rain turned into a deluge. That forced the game into a delay, with an attempted restart on Saturday in Somerset (which has an artificial turf field). But with the rain falling all day on Saturday, that was a no-go as well. 

     Pleasanton’s regular season finale at Devine never got started on Friday, and an attempt to play the game Saturday in Somerset was washed out.

     The District 29-4A athletic directors and coaches agreed to declared both of Friday’s games as “no contest,” and both were canceled.

     After spotting the Eagles a run in the top of the first Monday in Somerset , the Owls answered with two in the bottom half. Kaden Lentz singled, followed by doubles from Brandon Garcia and Will Winchester.

     Pleasanton scored three times in the second, all with two outs, and with the benefit of only one hit.

    The Owls put together a two-out rally as well, with doubles from Gabe Guajardo and Carson Winchester.

     Again, the Eagles scored two after two were out, and did it all without a hit – two hit batters and three walks.

     Hondo got those two runs back in the bottom of the third. Garcia led off with a single, then after two outs, an error and a walk, Felipe Cueller doubled to left center to make it 6-5.

     Neither team could push a run across over the final four innings.

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