Tarkington sweeps past Brazos in Bi-District Play

TOMBALL — It has been over a month and a half since the Tarkington Longhorns last lost a baseball game on the diamond, and the boys from the prairie keep chugging along.

Head Coach Corey Heidebrecht and his team continued their winning ways on Saturday afternoon at Tomball Memorial High School with a sweep of the Brazos Cougars in a Class 3A Region III Bi-District series.

Tarkington won game one 3-2 in dramatic fashion and game two 7-0 on Saturday.

The Longhorns have won 14 in a row and improved their season record to 20-8.

In game one, the score was tied at two- apiece heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, when Bryan Mills crushed a pitch over the center fielder's head for a walk-off single, scoring Ethan Allen to give Tarkington a 3-2 win.

Lance Hawthorne pitched 6 2/3 of innings and struck out four. Cooper La Buff finished Brazos off for the final out of the seventh inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Allen reached after being hit by a pitch and stole second base. Hawthorne then reached on an error by the Cougars' shortstop, setting things up for Mills, who lifted the pitch 360 feet for the game-winner.

Brazos scored a run in the top of the third inning to move in front 1-0 before the Longhorns came back with a run of their own. Allen and Hawthorne each singled, and then Mills scored Allen with a groundout to tie the score at one apiece.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Cougars moved back in front with a run to take a 2-1 lead.

Tarkington would tie things up in the sixth inning. Keaton Lamberth tripled to start things off, and Caleb Schmidt scored pinch-runner Trenton Fruia for the tying run.

The second game saw Kamden Roberts pitch a four-hitter and strike out six as the Longhorns won 7-0.

Tarkington scored a run in the top of the fourth inning to break the scoreless tie as Lamberth walked and pinch runner Fruia in for Lamberth, scored on an error for a 1-0 lead.

The Longhorns then put the game away in the fifth inning with four runs.

La Buff and Allen walked and Hawthorne singled to load the bases. Roberts and Schmidt each walked to pick-up RBIs and the lead was 3-0. Dalton Bottos followed with a two-run single and the advantage was up to 5-0.

Tarkington added some insurance in the sixth inning with Roberts walking to score a run and then Lamberth singled to plate Allen and the lead was 7-0.

Lamberth finished with two hits, while Roberts and Bottos each had two RBIs.

Next up for the Longhorns are the Orangefield Bobcats in the area round.

Tarkington's Bryan Mills is all smiles after his game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one Saturday afternoon against Brazos.

The Vindicator | Jerry Michalsky