Three run fourth inning
buries Eagles
Spring – Trialing 2-0 with time fading the Tigers knew if they kept hitting the ball hard something good would happen and it did.
Third Baseman Ron Reemts two RBI triple helped The Klein Collins Tigers (19-11-0) defeat The Georgetown Eagles 3-2 in the Area round of the Class 5A Region II State Playoffs Thursday night at Collins High School. The win gives the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Game two will be played Friday at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas at 5 p.m.
Georgetown jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Todd Ritchie led off the first inning with a single to left field. Michael Guerrero laid down a perfect bunt moving Ritchie to second before Cory Knebel doubled home Ritchie to give the Eagles their first run of the game.
In the bottom of the first Collins appeared to have something working, Cory Geisler singled to right field, C.J. Hinojosa lined a ball to third baseman Kyle Davis for the first out of the inning. Austin Dean got aboard with a single to center. Ryan Schilhad followed, hitting into a double play to ending the threat.
“It has been a roller coaster ride for us. The guys stayed in the game, their kid was throwing really well (Ryan Brinley), we were hitting him but right at them. I applaud my kids for staying in the ball game and getting it done. We’re scrappy here and there, we just find away to get it done,” said Klein Collins Coach Miguel Carlos.
The Eagles (22-8-0) picked up their second run in the top of the second on Hermanson’s deep shot that sailed passed the 350 mark in straight away center field; at that point they led 2-0.
Georgetown’s great defense early on kept the Tigers at bay until the big fourth inning.
“Anytime you have a one run ball game there’s going to be three or four plays that can go either way. We didn’t take advantage of some opportunities to score early in the game and we had some base running situations late,” said Georgetown’s Coach Danny Wallace.
Schilhad got on base with a single to center before the Eagles junior Pitcher Brinley’s pickoff attempt at first base went south in efforts to keep Schilhad close to first base. A bad throw to first baseman Knebel was low, in the dirt and rolled to the Tigers dugout.
“They had the one big inning, the nine walks and hit by pitch really killed us. We have to cut down on that,” said Georgetown’s Coach Wallace.
Dylan Herman was awarded first base after being hit by a pitch. Sam Shaw singled home Schilhad before he was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double.
“We were hitting the ball real well but right at people. We knew we could hit this guy (speaking of Georgetown’s Pitcher Ryan Brinley). We knew eventually the ball was going to fall through the gaps,” said Ron Reemts Klein Collins Third Baseman.
Brinley struggled in the inning hitting two batters while giving up three hits including a bases clearing triple to Reemts, which ultimately summed up the game and was the end of Brinley’s night.
Bad base running cost the Eagles a chance to get even when Guerrero raced from first rounding second and over running third as the throw came in from left field to the third baseman Reemts who chased Guerrero to Catcher Josh Ledesma who tagged him for the third out of the game.
