Comanches down Johnson City to force decisive Game 3
by Mike Forman, Victoria Advocate Sports
Friday, June 3, 2011
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SAN ANTONIO - Shiner coach Daniel Boedeker wanted to erase any negative thoughts his team may have had before it got on the bus.
Shiner's Wesley Patek safely slides into home during the fourth inning against Johnson City on Friday night in San Antonio. photos by Frank Tilley, Victoria Advocate
The Comanches faced a must-win situation after dropping a 9-3 decision to Johnson City in Game 1 of their best-of-three Class 1A regional final series.
"We met this morning and I told them that baseball was a fun game and they needed come out here and enjoy it," Boedeker said. "That's how they played today. They played relaxed and they played fun. I think it helped us a little bit with our overall approach."
Shiner thoroughly enjoyed Game 2 after capturing an 11-4 decision on Friday night at the Blossom Athletic Center.
The Comanches improved to 28-9 and forced a decisive Game 3 on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Blossom Center with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
Shiner's Joey Gamez throws a pitch in the first inning. Gamez pitched through the sixth inning.
"We were kind of used to it because we've been in 1-1 situations and come out with wins," said senior Joey Gamez. "Today, we basically put it in that perspective and knew what we had to do and we had to come out here and at least get the W and that way we could keep battling until tomorrow."
Gamez did his part by pitching into the seventh inning before giving way to Jacob Stafford, who got the final three outs.
"I was getting a little worn out," said Gamez, who threw 123 pitches. "I think my problem was I was trying to place instead just throwing it. Until that last inning, I was feeling really good and I was trying to put it behind me and let them hit the ball and my defense was playing really well behind me."
Shiner's defense committed five errors, but the Comanches also turned three double plays and never allowed the Eagles (30-6) to score more than two runs in an inning.
"I thought Joey battled well," Boedeker said. "He hung in there and threw strikes. Even when he struggled a little bit, we made some great defensive plays to get out of some innings."
The Comanches had only six hits, but they included two by Cuatro Rankin, who broke an 0 for 24 slump with singles in Shiner's three-run third inning and six-run fourth inning.
Shiner's Brady Cejka was injured when he was beaned with a shot to the head that temporarily knocked him out.
"It felt great to finally get out of my slump," Rankin said. "I don't even know how long it had been. I know it had been at least a couple of games. Our whole team came out cold in the first game. It felt good for the bats to come alive tonight and great to get a win."
The win didn't come without a scary moment in the third inning when Brady Cejka was squaring to bunt when the ball bounced off the rim of his helmet and hit him below the eye. Cejka was able to stay in the game and tripled in his next at bat.
The Comanches missed a chance to win via the 10-run mercy rule when they left two runners on base in the fourth and one in the fifth.
Boedeker is hoping his team is saving the hits for Game 3.
"We've shown signs of that," he said. "I think a lot of it is we put a little too much pressure on ourselves. We're chasing pitches we don't need to be chasing. The whole key tomorrow is to come out and have some fun, relax and play good baseball."
Class 1A Regional Final
Shiner vs. Johnson City
Best-of-three at Blossom Athletic Center, SA
Game 1, Johnson City 9, Shiner 3
Game 2, Shiner 11, Johnson City 4
Game 3, Saturday, June 4 @ 4:00pm
Class 1A Region IV-1A Final Game 2 Shiner 11, Johnson City 4 R H E Johnson City 001 002 1 - 4 10 5 Shiner 013 601 x - 11 6 5 Dylan Carter, Garrett Deleon (4), Luke Neely (6) and Aaron Humphrey. Joey Gamez, Jacob Stafford (9) and Cuatro Rankin. W: Gamez (12-3). L: Carter (7-2). Highlights: (JC) Kris McDonald 2 for 4, 2 R; Neely 2 for 3, RBI; Cody Smith 2 for 4. (S) Brady Cejka 1 for 2, 3B, 2 R, RBI; Rankin 2 for 4, 2 R, RBI. Records: Johnson City 30-6; Shiner 28-9. Note: Series tied 1-1. Game 3, Saturday, 4 p.m., Blossom Center, San Antonio.
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