Stephenville completes area-round baseball sweep of Sweetwater

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Stephenville made several drastic improvements from 2016 to 2017, making the future appear bright for Yellow Jacket baseball. || Contributed

Flash Staff Report
TheFlashToday.com

(May 13, 2017) — In the end, game two was more dramatic, but overall it was very similar to game one between Stephenville and Sweetwater.

Stephenville build a sizeable early lead and then held on in the later innings. The Yellow Jackets (23-7-2) built at 7-2 lead over the Mustangs (12-16) in game two of the Region I-4A area playoff series, and had just enough left to finish off an 8-6 win and series sweep.

Stephenville advances to face 8-4A district rival Godley or Graham in a Region I-4A quarterfinal game or series, pending negotiations after the Graham-Godley series concludes Saturday at Brock. Godley won game one, 7-3, in Mineral Wells Friday.

Sweetwater scored four times in the top of the fifth inning, trimming its deficit to 7-6. Stephenville tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of sixth and very nearly needed it, but Caleb Smith earned the save, coming on in relief and ultimately ending the game with a strikeout while Sweetwater had the bases loaded.


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The Yellow Jackets played from in front all day, just like they did on Thursday. This time they put up a 3-spot in the bottom of the first after keeping Sweetwater off the board to begin the game. The scoring began with Cody Storrs reaching home on a ground ball off the bat of Derek Gifford. Gifford was later driven by Trevor Eater, who was eventually thrown out trying to score or it may have been an even bigger inning.

Gifford wasn’t done being productive from the plate, as a base hit gave him a second RBI for a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The lead wold slip to 4-2 on a Sweetwater RBI base hit and an unearned run due to fielding errors in the bottom of the third, but the Jackets got those runs right back. They scored twice n the top of the fourth for a 6-2 lead, the runners crossing home plate on a wild pitch and on a Kade Averhoff single. Storrs then gave the Jackets their largest lead of the day when he put the Sweetwater defense in a bind with a two-out bunt that was both sneak and nifty.

Sweetwater stranded two runners in the fourth en rout to leaving 12 on base on the afternoon, but the Mustangs bounced back big time in the fifth. As in almost all the way back, with Stephenville starter Caleb Gibbons leaving after giving up a third run in the bottom of the fifth. Three more runs would follow, and suddenly it was one-run game with two innings still to play.

The sixth wasn’t nearly as dramatic with Sweetwater going down in order before Stephenville completed the scoring then sent Caleb Smith out as the closer. He got the job done, but not without nervous moments with the Mustangs loading the bases wth two outs. His save secured the win for Gibbons, his first official win on the mound in the 2017 playoffs.

Gibbons was officially charged with three earned runs and four total in 4.2 innings while striking out five, walking four and allowing seven hits. He turned the hill over to Luke Bullard, who tossed the next two innings and surrendered two runs on on three hits and a pair of walks before Smith put a bow on the game and series in the seventh.

Storrs has had two hits in all four Stephenville playoff contests. He was again 2-for-4 Friday with an RBI and a run. Gifford was 2-for-4 and scored twice and Gibbons also went 2-for-4 while Easter was 2-for-3. The rest of the Jackets’ 11 total base knocks came one hit apiece from Aaron Abila, Averhoff and Clay Krause.

It’s the first time since 2014 that Stephenville has advanced past the area round in baseball. The Yellow Jackets were stunned in the final at bat against Venus in the bi-district round in 2015 and fell to Decatur in a tight area-round series n 2016.

The Jackets won 10-5 in the opener on Friday, scoring seven runs in the third on their way to a 10-2 lead entering the bottom of he seventh. Easton Jones pitched a complete game.


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