Baseball Playoff Recap (5/14): Cleburne, Birdville, Legacy win Game 3; LCCS going to semis

Baseball

Keller 5, Pebble Hills 1

The Indians scored five runs on nine hits and Zach Erdman allowed four hits with nine strikeouts as they swept their Class 6A Region 1 area round series on Saturday.

Keller will face Midland Legacy in the next round.

Michael Dattalo homered and drove in four runs for Keller, which scored two runs in the bottom of the first and three in the third.

Ty Zahradnik had the other RBI and got the final out on the mound. Niko Pecskovszky went 2 for 3.

Birdville 10, Crowley 3

The Hawks exploded for six runs in the top of the second to beat the Eagles in Game 3 of their 5A Region 1 area round series.

Birdville will play Mansfield Legacy in the next round.

Bynum Martinez’s two-run double gave Birdville a 5-1 lead in the second. Aiden Freeman added an RBI single.

Alex Showalter and Hogan Shelby led off the third with back to back singles and Showalter scored on a Crowley error.

Showalter, Shelby and Freeman had multiple hits for the Hawks. Shelby allowed two earned runs on four hits and struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings. Ryan Dyer didn’t allow a hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Legacy 8, Northwest 7

Dylan Schlaegel’s single to center field scored Cade Sanberg and the Broncos walked it off in Game 3 to beat the Texans in their 5A Region 1 area round series.

Northwest scored four times in the sixth to pull within 7-5. Carter Rasmussen hit a grand slam. The Texans added two more in the seventh to tie the game.

Connor Crayton homered in the bottom of the fifth to spark a five-run inning for the Broncos. Drake Dowd started for Legacy on the mound and allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Cleburne 5, Hallsville 4

The Yellow Jackets held on against a Hallsville rally to win Game 3 of their 5A Region 2 area round series.

Cleburne will face Lufkin in the next round.

The Jackets got out to a 5-0 lead. Pedro Martinez drove in a run and a Hallsville error gave Cleburne a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Another error in the second scored Martinez. Aubrey Whitehead’s two-run double in the second pushed the lead to 5-0.

Hallsville had the bases loaded in the fifth and scored three times to pull within 5-3. The Bobcats added one in the sixth. Mason Runnels got the save for Cleburne and struck out four of the six batters he faced.

Kennedale 7, Godley 2 (10)

Kennedale scored five runs in the top of the 10th to stun Godley in Game 3 of their 4A Region 2 area round series.

Kennedale will play Melissa in the next round.

Nevyn Johnson led off the 10th with a triple and scored on Ty Blocklyn’s single to center. Two batters later, Hayden Swenson drilled a 2-1 pitch to deep left for the grand slam.

Lake Country 4, Covenant 1

Landon Fuller allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out 11 as the Eagles defeated the Cougars in a TAPPS D3 regional round game.

Lake Country advances to the state semifinals.

Max Nilsson singled in a run and Aaron Coleman had an RBI sac fly to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead in the second. Nilsson added an RBI single in the fourth. TJ Mynyk’s RBI double pushed the lead to 4-1.

Covenant put its first two on in the sixth, but Fuller struck out back-to-back batters to end the threat. Fuller struck out the side in the seventh.

Others: Arlington Martin, Lake Ridge and Mansfield fell in Game 3 on Saturday to end their seasons. Boswell lost to Frenship 6-5 in Game 2 to fall in its area round series.