Bulldogs show who they really are in defeating the Eagles

The Burnet High School baseball team illustrated almost every emotion known in sports in a 24-hour period.

One night after losing to Salado 20-3 in a contest that ended after 5 1/2 innings April 13, the Bulldogs arrived at Bulldog Diamonds for the conclusion of a three-game series with the Eagles April 14. Because Burnet had beaten the Eagles 7-6 March 18, both teams knew the winner would take the crucial head-to-head matchup that sometimes determines playoff berths or seeds for the postseason.

But this time, the Bulldogs (9-10-1, 6-5 District 19-4A) responded to every challenge thrown at them from the Eagles (11-10, 5-6) en route to a 13-6 win for third place in the district standings.

“Lots of things went bad (April 13),” head coach Russell Houston said. “There’s no reason to get upset cause it’s not like they’re trying to make mistakes. Nothing went right, so let’s move on and not worry about it. I think having the ability to play them the next day was an advantage. When our players got to the ball park, I told them, ‘You don’t have to be perfect. Your best is good enough to win. You don’t have to do anything special or anything outlandish. Play your best and you’ll have a chance.'”

Salado plated three runs to begin the game. But unlike the night before, Burnet responded by scoring six runs for a 6-3 advantage. Jesse Bachmayer had 3 RBIs on a double in that inning with two outs.

“That was big for us,” the coach said. “He had a really good at-bat.”

The Eagles knocked in three more runs in the second inning to tie game. Houston made a pitching change, opting to go with Clayton Zinz, who threw for 5 1/3 innings and had 2 strikeouts.

“They loaded up the bases, and we had nobody out,” the coach said. “We were able to limit the damage. Clayton’s pitched well for us all year. Our defense made all the routine plays. They were super to watch and they didn’t make any errors. If you can make all the routine plays in high school baseball, you have a chance.”

The Bulldogs scored two runs in their half of the second inning, three in the third thanks to a triple by Tanner O’Hair, and two in the fourth. Jackson Crawford scattered his 3 RBIs.

Houston called the loss April 13 “weird in many ways.” For starters, it was a game that was supposed to have been played on April 12, but hail and severe weather forced officials to postpone until the next night.

Add to that Salado opted to throw junior pitcher Caden Strickland, who most insiders believe is the district’s No. 1 pitcher, and events quickly stacked against the Bulldogs. After the Bulldogs batted in the top half of the first inning, Salado’s lead-off hitter recorded a triple and the next two batters earned walks. A line drive to center field brought in two runs and an error on a throw allowed more to score for a 4-0 lead.

The second and third innings each had home runs that gave Salado a commanding 10-0 advantage. Burnet plated two runs in the fourth but gave up 10 more runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Bulldogs had five errors in the game. Strickland ended the contest with seven strikeouts.

“Lots of things went bad,” Houston said. “On Tuesday we were stuck in tornadoes and stuck in the mud. On Wednesday we played our worst game of baseball all year. After the game I told our players two things: No. 1, it’s over and No. 2, we get to play them again tomorrow and it’s another day. How are we going to respond to what happened? Are we going to compete and try to win?”

When the Bulldogs exited the field April 13, Houston said they all agreed the number of runs Salado scored wasn’t reflective of the Burnet program or its players.

“It’s not like Salado was trying to run up the score,” he said. “We played that bad. I told our players, ‘You’re better than this and you know it. Now, how are you going to respond?'”

Burnet has four games left in the regular season beginning with a home game against Taylor (8-3) Tuesday, April 19, at Bulldog Diamonds, 1000 The Green Mile, and will travel to face the Ducks Friday, April 22. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.

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