Sam Breyfogle was the real ace in the game Thursday night, as he outpitched Nederland's University of Texas-signee Kirby Bellow in a 4-0 victory. Fellow Rebel pitcher Shane Kelley helped the Rebs finish off Nederland Saturday in a 4-1 win. Hays will next take on fifth-ranked Brenham in the regional quarterfinals. (Photo by Joel San Miguel)
By JASON GORDON
Going up against a Nederland team oozing with pitching talent in the Area round of the Class 4A playoffs, it turned out the Hays baseball team showed two aces of its own.
After beating the Bulldogs and University of Texas-signee Kirby Bellow on Thursday, the Rebels closed out the series in game two, beating Nederland pitcher Cody Laird 4-1 Saturday afternoon in Montgomery.
Hays advances to play Brenham, the fifth-ranked team in the state, in the Class 4A Region III quarterfinals in a best-of-three series. Brenham, which swept Lehman in the first round, knocked off Crosby 7-4 in a one-game series Saturday night. Hays will play Brenham in game one at Bastrop Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m. Game two will be played in Weimar Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. and, if needed, game three will follow immediately afterward.
After Sam Breyfogle tossed a gem for the Rebs Thursday, Shane Kelley (10-1) was dominant on the mound Saturday. Kelley allowed only five hits, no earned runs and didn’t walk a batter. Hays didn’t walk a single Nederland player in the two-game series.
“To not give up a single walk in 14 innings of high school playoff baseball is pretty incredible,” Hays head coach Doug Ragsdale said. “Shane actually threw his best stuff of the game during the final two innings after we got the lead.”
Hays finally got to Laird, who entered the game with a 10-0 record, in the top of the sixth.
With the bases loaded, Dylan Salinas hit a grounder back to the pitcher, but his throw home was late. After a subsequent throw to first base pulled Nederland’s defender off the bag, both Breyfogle and Kelley scored. Masen Gulley followed with an RBI-groundout to plate Reuben Miller, and Hays led 4-1 going to the bottom of the sixth.
“We really came to life after that rally in the sixth inning,” Kelley said. “The fans got into it and were cheering, and it gave us the energy to close it out.”
On Thursday, Breyfogle outpitched Bellow, who threw back-to-back no-hitters earlier in the season and was coming off a 16-strikeout performance last week.
Breyfogle allowed only three hits and struck out eight batters in the best performance of his high school career.
“Sam pitched a masterful game,” Ragsdale said. “He was lights out. I can’t say enough about how he performed.”
Kelley agreed Breyfogle (6-2) was at his very best Thursday night against the Bulldogs.
“I’ve never seen Sam pitch better,” Kelley said. “He was throwing strikes, moving the ball around, and changing speeds. It was amazing to watch.”
The numerous professional scouts that showed up to watch Bellow might have been shocked to see someone outperform him on the mound. They were probably even more surprised to see the way the Rebel hitters were belting the ball around the yard.
Phillip Abreo got things started for Hays (24-7) by one-hopping a double to the wall in right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Justin Heath followed with a single to put the Rebels up 1-0.
Miller dealt Bellow the next knockout punch, with a single in the bottom of the fourth to plate Heath and Breyfogle. Kelley would score later that inning on Gulley’s RBI-groundout, and Hays led 4-0.
In all, the Rebels collected eight hits off the sometimes unhittable Bellow.
“We definitely weren’t scared,” Hays centerfielder Trace Gandy said. “We knew he was good, but we had confidence he couldn’t stop us.”
Kelley said the Rebels will be ready against Brenham in the regional quarterfinals.
“Our team is always confident,” Kelley said. “We’ll do what we always do this week, have fun in practice and try to get better.”
