After a promising walk-off win in the series-opener of its Class 3A best-of-three area round baseball series, the Whitesboro baseball team looked prime for another upset.
But Rains had other ideas. The Wildcats limited Bearcats batters to just four hits for the remainder of the series as they won the last two games of the series last weekend at Princeton High School. Rains faces No. 1 Boyd in the region quarterfinal round this weekend. Whitesboro finished the season 19-15-1.
GAME THREE
RAINS 5, WHITESBORO 2
The Wildcats scored four unanswered runs, including three in the fateful top of the sixth, to rally for a 5-2 victory in Game Three against the Bearcats last Saturday.
Whitesboro managed just one hit in the contest - a two-run double from Max Hinsley.
After three scoreless innings, Rains used a hit batsman and an error to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. The Bearcats answered with Hinsley’s two-run double in the bottom of the fourth to seize a 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats used a trio of hits to tie the game, 2-2, in the top of the fifth. They used two walks, a double and an error to score three times in the top of the sixth.
GAME TWO
RAINS 12, WHITESBORO 2
Rains scored 12 runs in the third-through-sixth innings to rally for a 12-2 series-tying victory over Whitesboro last Friday. The game was called in the bottom of the sixth because of the 10-run rule.
The Bearcats struck first on a two-run single from Dax Martin in the top of the first. The score remained the same until the Wildcats scored a run in the bottom of the third to pull within one, 2-1.
Rains came to life in the bottom of the fourth. The Wildcats used four walks, three hits and an error to score six runs and seize a 7-2 lead.
Rains used a pair of doubles to make it 8-2 after five. The Wildcats put the game away with four runs off of four walks and three hits in the bottom of the sixth.
In addition to Martin (1-3, 2 RBI), Landon Newkirk (1-3) and Maxx Parker (1-2, BB) also contributed.
GAME ONE
WHITESBORO 5, RAINS 4
Brayden Bomar’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh gave Whitesboro a walk-off 5-4 victory over Rains last Thursday. Bomar’s hit came after Cody Fagan reached base on a fielder’s choice and Parker followed with a double.
The Wildcats used a pair of hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The score remained the same until the bottom of the fourth when Hinsley hit a two-run single to tie the game at 2.
Rains used a pair of hits to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth before Martin recorded an RBI on a fielder’s choice to knot it up at 3 after five complete.
The Wildcats took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh before Bomar’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the frame.
Newkirk (2-3, 2B), Parker (2-4, 2B) and Tracy Brees (2-3) led Whitesboro at the plate. Bomar (1-2, BB, 2B, 2 RBI), Hinsley (1-3, 2 RBI) and Martin (1-3, RBI) also contributed.