Published: May 31, 2009 12:22 am      

Bulldogs go down

White Oak rallies, wins two from New Waverly

POLLOK — The Bulldogs had two chances to finish off White Oak after winning the first game of the Region III semifinal series Thursday night. But New Waverly couldn’t get the hits at key times Saturday, making it a dog kind of day, instead of a day for the Dogs.

The Bulldogs lost two games Saturday in the Class 2A baseball playoffs. New Waverly fell 7-6 in the first game, then the Bulldogs were blanked 4-0 in the decisive contest at Central High’s Rayburn Richardson Baseball Field.

“They did what they needed to do to get to the next level,” New Waverly coach Tommy Bohannon said. “Hopefully, there are some more lessons to learn. You’re never guaranteed to get to this spot again. You just have to be up to whatever challenge comes your way.”

The Bulldogs could never get into a rhythm in the final game as White Oak starting pitcher Blake Ware, who threw on just one day’s rest, kept them off-balance.

Ware scattered four hits over seven innings and totaled 10 strikeouts.

“Twenty-four hours does a lot,” Ware said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, but I still had my changeup, which helped. My defense, you’ve got to give them credit. They made all the plays.”

The few times the Bulldogs (24-6) were able to get runners on the bases, often two outs were already recorded and they were unable to get the hit that brought in runs. 

“We just missed opportunities and didn’t play our game,” Bulldogs junior third baseman Matt Gray said. “We just weren’t hitting the ball. I don’t know what it was. For some reason (Ware) was pitching good and we just weren’t hitting the ball like we can. We just didn’t play our game. That’s what it came down to. We made mistakes here and there and they capitalized on them. You can’t afford to make them when you get this far.”

It appeared as if the Bulldogs would be able to get out of a jam with two outs and runners on second and third when Ware hit a grounder off starting pitcher Ryan Reyes to New Waverly senior shortstop Rhett Bohannon. But Rhett Bohannon’s throw to first was off the mark as it flew past first baseman Tate Maddox’s glove and both runners came around to score.

It was one of the only mistakes the Bulldogs made in the regional semifinals. but it was a big one, especially considering that New Waverly couldn’t respond to it.

The Roughnecks (25-7) tacked on two more runs in the fifth to broaden their lead.

After senior first baseman Ryan Alford popped out to begin the inning, Ware singled through the right side of the infield. Junior Chace Evans followed that up with a single down the left-field line. Junior Wesley Berry, who courtesy ran for Ware, advanced to third, while Evans scampered to second base. Sophomore second baseman Derick Smith delivered the crushing blow as he singled through the right side of the infield to bring Berry and Evans across home plate.

In Saturday’s first game, the Bulldogs had everything going their way when everything just fell apart.

New Waverly scored four runs in the first inning and had a 6-1 lead going into the home half of the fourth.

Then the Roughnecks, who had only five hits through the previous 10 innings, including the first game in which they had managed just one hit, started hitting the ball with a fury.

“When you get up by five runs, you feel like you’re going to be able to get the job done,” coach Bohannon said. “In reality, we didn’t take advantage of a lot of opportunities that we had, especially early on. We had a lot of traffic on the bases. They came back and bit us for not getting it done. We know that can happen in sports. You can be on that mountaintop and someone can pull that ladder out from under you.”

Junior left fielder Lance Pecot led off the inning with a single to shallow right field. New Waverly starting pitcher Cole Bohannon attempted to pick off Pecot at first, but the throw was off and Pecot motored to second.

After third baseman Logan King struck out, Alford walked. White Oak then pulled off the double steal to put both runners in scoring position. Ware grounded out to Rhett Bohannon, but was able to bring in Pecot and move Alford to third. Evans then hit an RBI double along the right-field line to bring the Roughnecks within three runs.

Now that they were within striking distance, the Roughnecks put on a display of power.

Smith hit a two-run bomb over the center-field wall and Cole Bohannon’s day was done.

Coach Bohannon brought in Gray, who throws submarine-style, but the Bulldogs’ fortunes weren’t any better. 

The first batter Gray faced was junior catcher Jackson McCurdy, who hit a solo homer to left field in the third inning. McCurdy launched another home run to nearly the same spot to tie the game at 6.

The Bulldogs had a prime opportunity to retake the lead. They had two runners in scoring position with one out in the sixth inning, but they couldn’t bring in either one as Maddox struck out and Matt Roberts grounded out to first.

With the score still knotted in the seventh, White Oak took advantage of its late opportunities.

King singled to center, but was able to reach second when center fielder Eli Amador overran the ball.

Alford grounded out to Reyes to move King to third base. Ware came up with his only hit of the game and drilled the ball up the middle for a walk-off RBI single to help end the Bulldogs’ season.