For the first time, the Lubbock area will feature two Class 2A baseball teams in the state semifinals. The division-split playoff format implemented last season made it possible.
District rivals New Home and Ropes advanced to play another week, each with high-drama contests in the regional finals.
New Home baseball walks off in 11th inning
The Leopards (27-7) outlasted New Deal in an 11-inning dogfight Friday at Lubbock-Cooper Liberty. New Home walked off the one-game playoff on a wild pitch to win the marathon 3-2.
Tucker Cotton earned the win after three innings of no-hit relief. He struck out four and walked one after inheriting a 2-2 tie in the ninth. Leopards starter Avin Madrid scored the winning run after drawing a leadoff walk. Madrid threw eight innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.
The Lions (27-6) jumped in front with a two-run third but couldn’t string together enough offense the rest of the way. An error and squeeze play staked New Deal a 2-0 edge. New Home was down to its final out before tying the game.
Trailing 2-1, Cotton drove in Madrid to send the game to extras. That was the only earned run allowed by New Deal starter Lane Proctor. He scattered six hits with nine strikeouts, two walks and one hit batter over nine innings before reaching his pitch limit.
New Home, a 2025 state runner-up, will again face Tom Bean in the 2A Division I semifinals. The Leopards swept last year’s series to make it to the title game. The Tomcats beat Bosqueville 6-1 in Game 3 on Friday to set up the rematch.
Ropes baseball sweeps Gruver with pair of nail-biters
Ropes’ dramatics weren’t limited to one game.
The Eagles swept Gruver in the Region I-2A D-II final after a pair of contests decided in the final inning.
The teams dueled to a scoreless draw through nine innings in Game 1. Ropes broke through with back-to-back run-scoring hits, and Cutter Stumbo worked out of a jam for a 2-0 victory in 10 innings. The Greyhounds loaded the bases with one out, but the Eagles ended the game with a double play.
Stumbo earned the win after 4⅔ innings of relief. He allowed two hits with seven strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters.
Ropes (30-5) followed with a 4-3 walk-off win in Game 2 to sweep the doubleheader at Bushland. The Eagles built a 3-0 lead through two innings before Gruver started chipping away.
The Greyhounds tied the game in the sixth inning, but Ropes countered in its final at-bat. Jaivyth Cruz, who reached on an error, scored the game-winner on a passed ball with two outs.
The Eagles will face Collinsville in the state semifinals. The Pirates swept Muenster in the Region II-2A D-II final.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: New Home, Ropes baseball walk off to 2A state semifinals
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
