After losing the first region semifinal game against Sanger, the baseball team bounced back to win the next two games, taking the series against local rival Sanger. The Eagles fell to Sanger 10-8 in the first game, after leading early in the game  8-3, then coming up short after a series of Sanger home runs that helped seal game one of the series.

“We weren’t too worried after the first game loss,” senior Tyler Gibson said. “We felt good about the second game having Gooch on the mound, but the third game made us nervous because it was a make or break game for the team.”

The team fell behind 2-0 after an early Sanger home run in the second game, but then scored 6 consecutive runs to take the lead, and closed the game out with a 6-3 victory. Senior Drew Gooch was credited with the win, and keys hits by senior Brandon Boyzuick and junior Ryley Balch contributed to the lead change after trailing 2-0. Junior Hunter Markwardt took the mound for the final game, and shut the Sanger Indians down winning 6-2, with a key triple by Cutter McDonald in the top of the fourth inning.

“The series win was huge for us to be able to come back after a loss and win two games in a row,” Boyzuick said. “Sanger is one of the best hitting teams in 3A, and I have much respect for their coach who has turned their program around.”

The Eagles take on Pleasant Grove in the Regional Semi-final Round this week and  travel to McKinney Boyd Thursday for a 7 p.m. game for the first of a three game series, with Friday (7 p.m.)  and Saturday’s (2 p.m.) games being held at Mt. Pleasant Community College.

“Pleasant Grove is always a huge competition for us,” Gooch said. “We have a good chance at beating them in the series as long as we play to our full potential.”

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