by CHARLES DEE
It took only two games for Hays High to put down the Burbank Bulldogs, as the Rebel baseball team moves further into the playoffs.
Friday night at Rebel Field, Gibson Hatch shut off a Burbank rally in the sixth inning to help the Hays Rebels hang on for a tough 9-7 victory over the Burbank Bulldogs to sweep the series and move on to the area round against Dripping Springs.
The game against Dripping Springs is at Burger Center in Austin and begins 7 p.m. Friday.
Last Friday, Hays started early with a double by Alex Robles in the first, followed by a walk to Granger Studdard, a single by Dalton Niles and RBIs by Nate Scott and Justin Diaz to close the 1st with a 3-0 lead.
Burbank center fielder Nick Canas homered in the second to get the Bulldogs on the board. The 3-1 score stood through the fourth when Justin Montana reached first with a bunt single. Robles then ripped a fast ball into the parking lot to add two more. Feeling the fire, Studdard and Niles singled and Devin Palm delivered the second big hit of the inning with a bases clearing triple to right center. Nate Scott’s single drove in Palm to give the Rebs a 8-1 margin.
Canas again provided the fuel to a Burbank rally with a double in the fifth and a triple in the sixth to take advantage of six walks issued by Rebel pitchers and plate six runs.
Using another hit by Niles single and Palm’s double, the Rebs hung tough in the bottom of the sixth to get a much needed insurance run. Hatch, who relieved winning pitcher Alec Swofford and first reliever Adrian Acosta, pitched two strong outs in the seventh before giving the ball to Tyler Woodmansee, Thursday’s winner, for the final out.
Offensively, the Rebs were paced by Dalton Niles 3-4, Devin Palm 2-4, Nate Scotts two hits and Justin Montana’s 3 hits.
The Hays-Burbank first game on Thursday ended in a 10-1 stomping by the Rebels.
With the wind howling and the temperature dropping, the Rebels used hot pitching and timely hitting to bombard the Burbank Bulldogs in the first game of the two out of three Bi-District series in San Antonio.
The Rebs used a walk to Cerda and a towering double off the right field wall by Studdard to set the stage for Niles’ RBI sacrifice fly to stake Woodmansee to a first inning 1-0 lead. Woodmansee proved that was all he really needed by hurling seven strong innings, limiting the bulldogs to 4 hits, striking out 9 and walking only one. The Rebel defense squashed any hopes of Burbank rallies in the first, third and sixth with great defensive plays by Niles and Montana, and a smooth 4-6-3 double play started by Robles.
The Rebel offense was not satisfied. With Robles on board in the third, Cerda unleashed a screaming line drive RBI triple down the right field line and courtesy runner Hatch tagged and scored on Niles’ second sac fly to center. In the fifth Cerda and Studdard drew walks which Palm made good with a towering fly ball to right that the wind blew fair at the last moment for a base hot to drive in a run. After walking the bases loaded in the sixth, the Bulldogs brought Studdard to the plate with nowhere to put him. Studdard proved worthy, blasting a fastball deep into the night behind right center field for a grand slam. The Rebs closed out the scoring in the seventh, using back to back triples by Acosta and Montana to post an even 10 for the game.
