Burnet, La Grange to play third game to decide series winner

The Burnet and La Grange baseball teams will need to play a third and decisive contest to decide a bi-district championship. That’s because Burnet won game one 8-0 and La Grange took game two 3-0.

Game three will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at Hutto High School. Ralston Vance will be the Burnet starting pitcher.

“We came out and hit the ball really well. Clayton Zinz pitched well for us. It was a good win for us,” Bulldogs head coach Russell Houston said. “In game one, we started hot and everybody got hot.”

The Bulldogs were the home team and Zinz set the tone from the start. He got the first 2 outs thanks to picking up grounders hit to him and throwing to first. Then he forced the fourth batter to fly out to right field.

Zinz threw seven complete innings and scattered six hits and struck out four.

Burnet also packed its bats. Jackson Crawford led off with a double followed by back-to-back singles by Will Johnson and Dash Denton in the bottom of the first inning. Crawford scored on Johnson’s single. Tanner O’Hair hit a sacrifice flyball and Denton came home on a wild pitch for a 4-0 lead.

Trenton Park led off the second inning with a single then came home on Crawford’s grounder.

O’Hair reached first after being hit by a pitch in the third inning and later scored on a RBI single by Vance. Kurt Kassner stole home for a 6-0 lead.

Crawford scored the only run of the fourth inning on a pass ball, while Noah Crawford scored the game’s last run in the sixth inning.

“Hits are contagious,” Houston said. “You hit one, you get two, three, four. They’re like strikeouts. When you start off hitting, everyone gets hot.”

In game two the Leopards scored all their runs in the first inning. Cameron Kruse led off with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. After two outs, Trenton Barnes got a 2 RBI double that brought home Brendan Maddox and Kamdyn Hall, who both reached base on walks.

After that, Burnet pitcher Kassner allowed three more hits. He was credited with the loss thanks to giving up five hits, four walks, one hit by pitch, and striking out four.

“Kurt pitched well,” Houston said. “Once he got into rhythm, he was good.”

In six innings La Grange pitcher Barnes threw a no-hitter and issued only one free base, a walk in the sixth.

“Their guy came in and just pitched well in the second one,” Houston said.

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