Hays Hawks defeats Lehman Lobos to clinch playoffs

BUDA — On Friday, April 26, the Hays Hawks and Lehman Lobo baseball teams played in the second of a two-game series.

The first game took place at Lehman High School on Tuesday, April 23, and the matchup came down to the wire, going into extra innings after a game-tying home run in the seventh inning from the Lobos. In the end, the Hawks came out with a 6-4 win.

Going into the second game of the series, which was played at Hays High School, both teams were looking to win the final game of the season and a long-standing rivalry matchup. The Hawks were celebrating their seniors and needed to win to secure a playoff spot. The Lobos were unable to make the playoffs, but were eager to play against their rival.

The game started with the Hawks jumping out to a 5-1 lead after scoring four runs in the second inning. However, the Lobos would bounce back, pitching shutouts in the third and fourth innings and scoring three runs in the fifth inning, making it a one-point game with a score of 5-4. Both teams had an opportunity to leap ahead and seal the game in the sixth inning. After a two-run home run from senior Holden Catron, the Hawks secured the victory by scoring three runs in the sixth and pitching shutouts in the top of the sixth and seventh innings. The final score was 8-4.

Lehman finished the season with a record of 14-17 and Hays finished the season with a record of 21-9.

Hays will continue on to play in the Bi-District round of the playoffs against Boerne Champion in a best of three series. Game one will be held in Boerne at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2. Game two will be held at Hays High School at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 3. If needed, game three will be held in Boerne at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.