Decatur holds of furious Vernon rally to capture the 5-3A title
By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, April 30, 2009
Only one district team found a way to beat the Decatur Eagles on the baseball diamond this year, and that led to much-anticipated rematch with Vernon on the final day of the season.
The Lions roared into Decatur Saturday afternoon for a final district showdown between two 8-1 teams that were playing for all the marbles - the District 5-3A championship. The Eagles did not play defense like champions, but they hit the ball like kings, scoring just enough runs to beat Vernon 11-10.
The Eagles were one run away from sending the Lions back home early via the mercy rule, but that opportunity fell a run short. Decatur's 10-1 lead disappeared in a hurry as Vernon scored nine runs in its final four at bats.
The Lions, who scored three times in the seventh inning, got their biggest hit of the inning from standout Craig Whiteside who drilled a two-run, two out triple to right field to make it 11-10.
With the potential tying run just 90 feet away, DHS relief pitcher Clint Moore forced a ground out to second base to end the game and Vernon's title hopes.
The win wrapped up the district title for the Eagles at 9-1 in league play and 16-8 for the season, while Vernon finishes second at 8-2 and 17-11. Both teams have a first round bye in the Class 3A state playoffs and will advance to the area championship round in two weeks.
The title game was not the cleanest game defensively as both teams chalked up four errors. However, both were also aggressive at the plate where they evenly split 22 base hits.
The defensive nightmare hit Vernon in the second inning when the Eagles scored the first three runs of the game on two errors and one hit. Chad Harrison picked up the first single of the game, before stealing second base, moving to third on an error and scoring on a grounder by Francisco Perez to put Decatur in front 1-0.
Zach Gage, who got on base via a dropped third strike, eventually scored on a passed ball, and Jake Connally walked and later scored on a throwing error to make it a 3-0 ball game.
Connally, who got the call on the mound, lost his shut out in the top of the third when the Lions scored one run on a pair of hits to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Decatur erupted in the bottom half of the inning with seven runs and sent starting pitcher Andrew White back to the dugout. The locals batted the order by dishing out five hits and capitalizing on two more errors to take a nine-run lead.
Colton Parker and Tompkins got back-to-back singles, and Harrison got on base by a VHS miscue to load the bases with no outs. Andrew Gage walked to bring in one run, and Zach Gage ripped a single to left field for two runs and a 6-1 DHS lead.
The second miscue of the inning allowed Connally to get on base and Andrew Gage to score. That set up the biggest hit of the inning when Perez crushed a two-run double with two outs. Perez later scored on a wild pitch to make it 10-1.
The outburst caught the attention of the Lions as they spent the rest of the game playing catch up. They added two runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth inning to make it a 10-7 contest. The visitors used three hits and a two-out throwing error to score the runs in the fifth.
Decatur scored what proved to be the winning run in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Moore led off with a single, worked his way around the bases and scored with two outs on a wild pitch to make it 11-7.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Vernon got an RBI double and triple in the seventh to move within 90 feet of forcing extra innings.
District 5-3A standings
Team Overall Dist. Decatur 16-8 9-1 Vernon 17-11 8-2 Bridgeport 14-10 5-5 Burkburnett 14-15 4-6 Iowa Park 8-15 4-6 Hirschi 2-19 0-10
