Sandies Rally in Seventh for 4-3 Win
Prater Pitches Complete Game, Goes 3-3 at the Plate
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
JEWETT – After picking up a come from behind district opening win against the Lovelady Lions on Saturday, the Grapeland Sandies were back at it again on Tuesday evening as they traveled to Jewett for a District 21-2A matchup against the Leon Cougars.
Leon took the early lead and held on to a one-run advantage until the top of the seventh when Grapeland managed to plate two runs to go ahead 4-3. Payton Prater did the rest as the senior right-hander took care of business in the bottom of the inning to pick up the complete game win.
Brock Bumpurs got the start for Leon and after a first-pitch ball, he struck out Slade Harris on three straight pitches for the first out. Prater followed with a single past third and he moved to second when a Cole Goolsby fly ball was misplayed in the outfield.
It looked like the Sandies might have a big inning, but Bumpurs calmed down after the error to fan Jason DeCluette and coaxed Jax Vickers to pop up to third to retire the Grapeland batting order.
Prater was on the mound for the Sandies and he got off to a rough start. He plunked Jose Carrizales on a 3-0 count and followed up by hitting Taylor Evans two pitches later. A single from Bumpurs loaded the bases while Gavin Taylor singled past third to drive in Carrizales.
Trevor Carrington was up next and hit a slow roller back to the mound. Prater fielded the ball and threw home but Evans was able beat the throw to make the score 2-0.
After that, Prater settled down. He caught Gannen Wise looking at strike three and then got Noah Schrank to ground into a 3-2 force at the plate. Bumpurs, who was now at third, strayed a little too far off of the bag and Grapeland catcher Cole Goolsby fired down to Jace Elliott who applied the tag for the third out.
Bumpurs worked a fairly easy second inning. He forced Johnny Lamb to ground out to third and then struck out Elliott. After giving up a single to Jacob Vaden, the Centerville pitcher got Rickie Gilmore to fly out to left field.
In the bottom of the inning, Prater fanned Anthony Haney but a wild pitch on strike three allowed him to reach safely. An error moved him to second but when Haney tried to get greedy and take third, Prater caught him in a rundown and Haney was tagged out. Prater followed up with a strike out of Lucas Zansky, but an error on a Carrizales grounder and a single by Evans put runners at first and second.
On a 1-1 count, Carrizales tried to steal third, but once again Goolsby threw a bullet down to Elliott who tagged out Carrizales to end the inning.
The Sandies cut the lead in half during their half of the third. Harris led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Prater sacrifice. A passed ball allowed Harris to move over to third and when Goolsby lofted a pitch to deep left field, Harris was able to tag up and score. DeCluette followed with a single to left, but Vickers grounded out to end the inning.
The Cougars went quietly in the bottom of the third while the Sandies did the same in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, however, Leon plated another run to make the score 3-1. After retiring the first two batters, Prater fell victim to an infield error that allowed Zarsky to reach first base. Carrizales followed with a double to drive in Zarsky, but Prater shook it off to fan Evans and end the inning.
The Cougars returned the favor in the top of the fifth. Harris led off and reached on an error. With Prater in the batter’s box, Harris swiped second on a 1-2 count. Prater followed up with a single to right which drove in Harris and made the score 3-2.
Grapeland had a chance to tie or go ahead in the inning after Prater stole second. Bumpurs, however, had a different plan as he struck out both Goolsby and DeCluette and then popped up Vickers to end the Sandies’ threat.
Prater continued to grind it out in the fifth. After an error allowed Bumpurs to get on base, the same error allowed him to move to second. Prater caught Taylor swinging at strike three and then got Trevor Carrington to ground out to second. On the play, Bumpurs moved to third but Prater came back to catch Wise looking at strike three to end the frame.
After a sixth inning that saw both pitchers strike out the side, Grapeland took its first lead of the game in the top of the seventh. Isaiah Chimal led off with a four-pitch strike out, but Harris followed with a triple to the gap in right center.
Prater was up next and he roped a pitch into left to drive in Harris and tie the game at three apiece. At that point, the Cougars made a change on the mound as they brought on Carrizales in relief. Following a pick-off attempt, back-to-back wild pitches with Goolsby at the plate, moved Prater to third.
On a 2-1 count, Goolsby drove a Carrizales pitch deep enough into left where Prater was able to tag up and trot home to give Grapeland a 4-3 lead. Carrizales continued to struggle with his control and loaded the bases. Just when it seemed like the Sandies might blow the game wide open, however, Carrizales calmed down long enough to get Elliott to ground into a fielder’s choice to bring the Grapeland portion of the seventh to a close.
Once again, in the bottom of the seventh, Prater was able to grind it out. After a lead off error put Carrizales at first, he advanced to second on a wild pitch. A sacrifice from Evans moved him to third but Prater dug deep and caught Bumpurs swinging at strike three for the second out.
Taylor was up next and falling behind 1-2, he managed to work the count to 3-2 and on Prater’s 110 pitch of the game, he froze Taylor at the plate. As the ball settled into Goolsby’s mitt, the umpire called the third strike to give Prater and the Sandies a 4-3 win.
Prater went the distance for Grapeland as he gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits. He also struck out 13 and only walked one. At the plate, he was 3-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Goolsby was 0-2 at the plate but did manage to pick up the other two RBI.
Bumpurs was saddled with the loss after working 6.1 innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He also fanned 12 in the game.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
