Grapeland Drops 5-1 Decision to Martin’s Mill

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

BIG SANDY – The Grapeland Sandies opened play in the Big Sandy Baseball Tournament on Thursday afternoon with several new players joining the roster after the completion of basketball season Tuesday night.

The Sandies took on the Martin’s Mill Mustangs in a matinee game and with the exception of a big third inning from the Mustangs, Grapeland more than held their own. The score was tied at 0-0 through two innings before Martin’s Mill broke through for three unearned runs in the top of the third

After the Mustangs plated runs in the fifth and top of the sixth, the Sandies trimmed the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Grapeland had the bases loaded with only out but couldn’t manage to push any more runs across as they fell by a final of 5-1.

Cole Goolsby took the mound for the Grapeland to open the game and despite limited practice, Goolsby worked a 1-2-3 inning. He fanned Austin Alexander, popped up Matt Wood and forced Dawson Lynch to ground out to first to retire the side.

Lynch got the nod for the Mustangs and he also worked a strong inning. He got Slade Harris to ground into a 6-3 force to lead off the bottom of the first and then caught Johnny Lamb looking at strike three for the second out. Goolsby was up next and on a 2-1 pitch, he grounded out to short to end the frame.

Martin’s Mill got the first hit of the game when Austin Curtis roped a shot to left. On a 0-2 pitch, Curtis swiped second but Case Perkins lined out to left for the first out of the inning. Curtis tried to get greedy on the next pitch as he attempted to steal third but was caught in a run down and tagged out. Luke Lucking was at the plate when Curtis was thrown out and with two outs, he popped up to short to bring the Sandies in from the field.

Once again, Lynch had a fairly easy inning as he fanned Jason DeCluette and then got Jax Vickers as well as Peyton Prater to ground out to end the second.

The Mustangs broke into the scoring column the next time they came up to bat. Brayden Edwards struck out but reached first on a dropped third strike. He moved to second on a wild pitch but when he tried to steal third, Vickers gunned him down at the bag.

Gage St. Clair was in the batter’s box when Edwards was thrown out but St. Clair couldn’t catch up to a Goolsby heater and went down on strikes for the second out.

Ty Gandy followed in the order and was hit by a pitch. He moved to second when Alexander slapped a grounder to second that was misplayed. Wood followed with a soft liner into left that loaded the bases.

Lynch was up next and ripped a shot to short that was mishandled, allowing Gandy and Alexander to score while Wood advanced to third. Curtis followed with a single to center which let Wood trot home and made the score 3-0. Goolsby finally got out of the inning when he got Perkins to fly out to center but the damage was done.

When Grapeland came in from the field, they faced a red-hot Lynch who struck out Jayce Elliott on four pitches while both Rickie Gilmore and Jacob Vaden fanned on three.

A scoreless fourth inning gave way to the fifth where the Mustangs tacked on an additional run. Goolsby forced Gandy to ground out to short but Alexander followed with a triple. A passed ball allowed Alexander to scamper home and made the score 4-0. That was all Martin’s Mill would get, however, as Goolsby forced the next two batters to ground out.

In the bottom of the fifth, Lynch continued to dominate as he retired the Sandies in order once again. He coaxed DeCluette into grounding out to third, caught Vickers looking at strike three and then got Prater to hit into a 4-3 force.

Lamb came on in relief of Goolsby to start the sixth but the Mustangs added another unearned run to move ahead 5-0.

The Sandies managed to get a base runner in the bottom of the frame when Vaden singled to right with two outs. He stole second but was stranded there when Harris was called out looking.

Lamb held the Mustangs in check during the top of the seventh. After giving up a walk to Juan Carlos Morales, Lamb froze Hagen Hensen as strike three sailed by. Alexander followed in the order but lined into a double play to retire the side.

The Sandies put together a little bit of a rally in their final at-bat. Lamb struck out to open the inning but Goolsby drew a walk and stole second. DeCluette drove in Goolsby with a shot to deep center to make the score 5-1.

DeCluette moved to second on a passed ball while Vickers, who was in the batter’s box, was hit by the next pitch. That put runners at first and second with only one out. Prater was next in the order and attempted to sacrifice DeCluette to third, however, he reached first safely when Lynch misplayed the ball.

Grapeland had loaded the bases and had the tying run at the plate, but that was as close as they would get. Elliott struck out swinging for the second out while Kristian Sparks also fanned to end the game and hand the Mustangs the 5-1 win.

Lynch was credited with the win after going seven innings, only giving up two hits and one run. He also struck out 12 and walked one. Goolsby took the hard-luck loss as he pitched five innings, giving up four runs (only one earned) on four hits. He also struck out three. Lamb worked two innings and didn’t give up a hit. He struck out three and walked one.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].