District 1-3A
Bushland run-rules River Road
If there was doubt about the Bushland Falcons being the favorites in District 1-3A entering Tuesday’s district opener, they were quickly quieted.
Bushland showed why it figures to be the team to beat in district at River Road to start 1-3A play. The Falcons dominated in every phase of the game in rolling to a 13-1 five-inning 10-run mercy rule win to make a statement to the rest of the district.
Josh Bass led Bushland (14-3, 1-0 in district) both at the plate and on the mound. Bass had two hits and drove in two runs while giving up only one hit on the mound, striking out 12 on only 62 pitches.
Stratton Malloy had a pair of triples and drove in three runs for the Falcons while Breckan Adams was 3-for-3 and drove in two runs.
River Road fell to 7-8 and 0-1.
District 1-3A scores
Dimmitt 8, Tulia 6
Dalhart 8, Friona 7
District 4-4A
Randall keeps rolling by routing Perryton
No. 3 Randall continued to tower over the rest of the district, as the Raiders stayed unbeaten atop 4-4A by beating Perryton 11-0 in a five-inning run-rule win on the road.
The Raiders (19-3, 5-0) got all the runs they needed when they scored two in the second inning. They scored five in the top of the fifth to achieve the run-rule margin.
Michael Santiago had two hits and drove in four runs to lead Randall’s offense. The Raiders gave more than enough support to Alex Massey, who gave up four singles and struck out six while walking none.
Perryton fell to 8-10 and 1-4.
West Plains crushes Borger
West Plains wasted no time in jumping all over Borger, as the Wolves opened the game with nine runs in the top of the first and cruised to a 19-1 five-inning run-rule win.
It was the third straight district win for the first-year Wolves (13-7, 3-2).
West Plains took care of business by scoring 17 runs in the first two innings off three Borger pitchers. The Bulldogs (4-14, 0-5) didn’t help themselves by committing nine errors.
Bryton Bertrand led the Wolves at the plate by going 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. Johnie Gifford also drove in four runs, and Julyen Aguilera and Jeremiah Gutierrez both drove in three.
Hereford edges Canyon
Hereford threw the second spot in district play into flux, as the Whitefaces scored a run each in the last two innings to beat Canyon 3-2 at home.
With the loss Canyon (13-6, 3-2) fell out of sole possession of second place in the district and is now tied with Hereford (11-5-2, 3-2), West Plains and Pampa for second in 4-4A.
It was a pitchers’ duel as both teams had only five hits apiece, none for extra bases. Canyon’s Rece Davis and Hereford’s Marcos Acosta both had two hits. In the other district clash on Tuesday, Pampa earned a hard-fought home win over Dumas, 5-4.
District 3-5A
Sandies take sole possession of first, Tascosa falls to Plainview
The Amarillo High Sandies took sole possession of the district lead Tuesday afternoon and in the process got back to .500 on the season.
AHS rolled to an 11-0 victory in six innings at Caprock to take a half-game lead atop the district. The Sandies (10-10-2, 4-1) are now a half-game ahead of Palo Duro, who is open this week.
Connor Haelzle was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and three RBIs. Senior Cannon Davis added a pair of RBIs of his own in the win. Amarillo High has won three straight district games.
In the district’s other game, Tascosa lost at Plainview 4-1. The Rebels (9-11, 1-4) are now tied for fourth place with Caprock (3-15-1, 1-4) for fourth place in the five team district.
Tuesday’s opponents will meet again Friday at 5 p.m., with Caprock visiting Amarillo High and Plainview coming north to face Tascosa.