Paradise goes the distance but can't slow down Pilot Point
By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Paradise High School baseball team had everything it needed to be successful this year. It enjoyed steady pitching, clutch hitting throughout the order and played well defensively in district to nab one of the three playoff spots.
The Panthers were a scrappy bunch that did not strike fear into most teams, but they were good enough to beat most foes and win close games. Unfortunately, they ran into a similar team in Pilot Point that took advantage of every mistake, and that was just enough to beat Paradise in a best-of-three Class 2A bi-district playoff series in Lake Dallas.
After splitting the first two games, the Panthers were just one win away from advancing to the area title game for the first time in four years. Instead, the Bearcats cashed in on three Paradise errors to win the rubber match 11-1 and move on in the state playoffs.
"We just didn't play very good," said PHS coach Scott Broussard.
The Panthers could not generate any offense in the final game of their season as they managed just two hits by Caleb Read and Kevin Jackson Saturday afternoon in the third game of the series.
After two scoreless innings, the Bearcats got on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the third inning. They added three more in the fourth inning, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to take an 8-0 lead.
Paradise erased the shutout in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Jackson, which scored Kaleb Read to make it 8-1.
The Panthers did a better job of taking advantage of opportunities earlier in the day when they beat Pilot Point to even the series. They managed just five hits, but they also took advantage of two errors and a handful of walks to rally for a 9-7 victory.
The Bearcats struck first in the second game as they used three hits and a walk to score three times in their first at bat to take a 3-0 lead.
Paradise answered with three of its own in the top of the second inning. Ryan Smart and Taylor Castleberry scattered hits to help even things up at 3-3.
The Panthers kept the momentum by scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to build a 7-4 lead. Eric Villanueba, Braiden Black, Caleb Read and Castleberry scored during the run.
Pilot Point refused to go away as it used two hits and a pair of walks to chalk up three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to even the game at 7-7.
Smart came through with his second hit of the night in the sixth inning to help put away the Bearcats. Paradise scored twice to move back ahead 9-7.
Kaleb Read took over on the mound in the sixth inning to seal the deal. He held Pilot Point scoreless in the final three innings to pick up the win.
The opening game of the series was a slugfest as both teams combined for 18 base hits. However, the Bearcats had the bulk of the runs, and that's all that mattered as they beat Paradise 18-9.
After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning, Caleb Read, Castleberry and Villanueba helped erase the early deficit with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the locals ahead 4-3.
Paradise never led again as the Bearcats scored five times in the second inning - three of which were unearned - to take an 8-3 lead. The Panthers managed to pull within three runs in the fourth inning at 12-9, but PPHS scored six times in the seventh inning to put the game away.
