The Bandera Bulldogs grabbed an early lead against the Devine Warhorses on Tuesday, April 4, and held on for an 8-3 win despite making six errors.
Bandera took the lead in the top of the 1st inning. The Bulldogs’ two-hole hitter doubled to left, stole third, and scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the 2nd inning, thanks to two singles, two walks, and a sacrifice bunt.
Devine got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Richie Long reached on an error, and later took second on a passed ball. Connor Schmidt drew a two-out walk, and Long scored on a dropped third strike to cut Bandera’s lead to 2-1.
Dillon Ricord tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning, cranking a leadoff home run to left field. The Warhorses weren’t able to push across any more runs, despite two Bulldog errors.
Bandera wrested the lead back immediately, using a single, a stolen base, and Devine’s sole error of the game to go up 3-2 in the top of the 4th inning.
The Bulldogs put up three runs in the top of the 5th inning to put the game away. The first three batters reached on a single, a double, and an RBI single, and two wild pitches allowed two more runs to score.
Devine scored a final time in the bottom of the 5th inning. Ricord led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on Newt Crouch’s single. Jack Zimmerle’s hard ground ball drew an error from the Bulldogs’ shortstop, and Ricord scored to cut the lead to 6-3.
Bandera added two insurance runs in the top of the 7th inning, scoring thanks to two singles and two walks.
The Warhorses had five hits to Bandera’s 10, and drew just one walk while issuing the Bulldogs six free passes. Devine had one error and left five runners on base, and Bandera committed six errors and left nine runners on base.
Batting: Ricord 2-4, 1 RBI; Crouch 1-4; Zimmerle 0-3, 1 RBI; Long 0-3; Corben Boggs 0-3; Isaac Solis 1-3; Schmidt 1-2; Dalton Kramer 0-3; Kyler Brown 0-3.
Pitching: Boggs 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts; Solis 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 hits, two strikeouts; Schmidt 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts.
By Marly Davis
Staff Writer