St. Al advances to second round

Sean Weaver drew the last of 15 walks by Bogue Chitto pitchers to finish off the first game of the Class 1A state playoffs by run rule in six innings, 11-1, on Saturday at Warren Central’s Viking Field.

The bases-loaded RBI gave the St. Al catcher four RBIs in the game.

“It was hard to hit with all the walks,” Weaver said. “You had to be really patient.”

The Flashes concluded the series with a 13-2 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. St. Al (21-5) is now scheduled to play either Ethel or Weir on Thursday in the second round.

Despite all the free passes in the first game, Weaver was patient enough to slug a two-run homer to break the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning. The shot, which bounced off the WCHS foul pole sign in left-field, gave the Flashes a 6-1 lead.

“I didn’t really look to see where it hit,” said Weaver, who has hit two home runs in a week at Viking Field. “Oh yeah, this is a nice place. I’m not a home run guy, but that’s two for me in one week.”

St. Al ace Ryno Martin-Nez was dominant through his first three innings on the mound, allowing just a cheap infield hit while striking out five. Then he took a page from the Bobcat pitching book with three walks in the fourth inning to help set up Bogue Chitto’s only run of the game.

Weaver went out to see his pitcher after the third walk.

“I just had to slow him down. He was rushing. I need to get him back to the way he was during the first three innings,” Weaver said.

“I just lost that inning. I lost my release point,” Martin-Nez said.

Martin-Nez found it in time to strikeout James Anderson to leave the bases full and the Flashes ahead 4-1. He would strike out four more over the final two innings to finish with 12 for the game. The win moves him to 7-2 on the season.

St. Al added to its lead in the fifth when Brendan Beesley and Pierson Waring drew walks, the 11th and 12th of the game from Bogue Chitto starter Michael Martin. Stephen Evans brought Beesley in on a grounder to short while Weaver doubled in Waring to make it 8-1.

Beesley had an RBI hit in the sixth and that was followed by two more walks that chased home runs and ended the game.

Martin had a wild first two innings, striking out five and walking five. One of the walks brought in St. Al’s first run in the first inning.

Two more in the third set up a two-run single by Martin-Nez that made it 4-1.

St. Al 13, Bogue Chitto 2

Bobcat pitching dished out nine more walks and hit five batters as the Flashes finished off their first-round series.

St. Al blew the game open with a nine-run fourth inning. Blake Haygood delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single and that was followed by a pinch-hit RBI single by Judson Gatling. Brendan Beesley and Pierson Waring knocked in two more runs to cap the rally.

The Flashes had just six hits against Bobcat starter Seth Avants, but the walks and hit batters did him in. Four of the walks came in the key fourth inning.

Stephen Evans got the win, going all five innings, scattering five hits. He struck out six and improved to 6-1 on the year.