Burnet baseball brings the bats in win against Jarrell
CAPTION: Cooper Faris and the Burnet Bulldogs pick up a win against Jarrell to begin District 24-4A play. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Burnet High School baseball team defeated Jarrell 12-7 March 7 in the District 24-4A opener for both squads.
“Getting off to a good start in district is important whether you’re on the road or at home,” head coach Russell Houston said. “Getting that first district win is important.”
The Bulldogs averaged a little more than a run an inning that provided the run support for their defense and pitchers.
“I’ll take that any day of the week,” the coach said. “Hitting is big in high school baseball. It allows you to extend innings.”
But what is most impressive is that Houston estimated Burnet scored five runs after two outs.
“When you’re able to do that, it allows you to do a lot of things,” he said. “It obviously gives your team more confidence. It doesn’t matter if it’s one out or two. When you can get a big hit in the big spot, it’s demoralizing to them and it deflates pitchers a little bit, especially if they’re just not able to do it. Two-out hitting is a big thing.”
Jackson Crawford hit a home run and Will Johnson added a 3-run double to clear bases in the fifth inning.
“We had five RBIs in the same inning,” Houston said. “And that was right after they tied it up. We went out and scored seven more. They’re on a high after tying it up, and we put up seven in the bottom half of the inning. When you’re able to answer like that, it takes a lot of pressure off.”
Jarrell scored a run in the sixth and seventh innings that “don’t hurt us,” Houston said.
“We talk to our kids about if we make the routine plays, we’ll be in the game and you’ll have a chance to win it,” he said. “We made the routine plays. It’s plays you expect by high school players. We played well defensively.”
Sophomore pitcher Matthew Valdez (1-0 in district) was credited with the win.
“It was hot and muggy, and he wasn’t able to throw off-speed,” Houston said. “(Jarrell) put the ball in play hard. We made plays behind him. He threw strikes and was in command of the zone.”
Burnet hosts its own tournament Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, at Bulldog Diamonds. The Bulldogs play Comal Pieper at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Navarro at 3 p.m. Friday, and Llano at 10 a.m. and Pieper at 12:30 p.m. both on Saturday.
Burnet returns to District 24-4A play with a road trip to Lampasas (0-1 in district play) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14.
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