H.S. Baseball: Abilene Wylie shrugs off Garza's 2 HRs, sweeps Plainview
PLAINVIEW — Isaac Garza took a few extra seconds to admire his first-inning home run on Saturday.
He had earned it. The Plainview pitcher worked out of a bases-loaded jam to start the game, then launched the ball over the fence in left field to give his team an early lead.
Garza would do almost the same thing two innings later, stranding three Wylie runners on base, then blasting another solo shot.
But that would be all the offense Plainview could muster in the second game of their bi-district playoff series. Wylie pitcher Sam Walker was just as good at the plate and even more solid on the mound.
After those two innings of leaving the bases juiced, Wylie broke through in the fourth thanks to Walker's three-run double. That propelled Wylie to a 12-2, five-inning victory and a sweep of the series.
It's the third consecutive year Wylie has swept Plainview in the first round.
Wylie (19-11-1) put pressure on Plainview throughout the game but couldn't make the home team pay in its first few chances. With Walker dealing on the mound, once the big inning finally came, it was all but over.
"We've been talking about that," Wylie coach Grant Martin said. "We've left a lot of those out there, chances to explode. And we had one in the first game (Thursday) and one today that I felt really helped us, helped our momentum."
Aside from the two homers by Garza, Walker was just what Wylie needed on the mound. He scattered six hits and walked none with one hit batsman in the five innings on the mound. Plus, his three-run double for an 8-2 lead in the fourth inning was more than enough offense for his team.
"Sam's done great," Martin said. "I don't know that he had his best stuff today, but he battled through it. That's what he is. I thought he lived in the zone."
Tye Briscoe joined Walker with three RBIs each. Braden Regala collected three hits with Collin Bruning, Colby Garrett and Briscoe adding two each.
Plainview coach Brandon Gilliland said that while Garza wasn't perfect on the mound (eight hits, nine runs and four walks), the defense didn't help him much. Four of of the runs attributed to Garza — who struck out six — were earned thanks to five Plainview errors.
"We've got to defend behind him better," Gilliland said. "You don't want to kick the ball around like that because it puts some pressure on you, especially when he's having a little bit of a tough go. Maybe a leadoff single and a walk, we've got to come back and defend well and we didn't do that today."
Gilliland credited Wylie being a solid team for how the series went. Wylie won the opener 15-5 in six innings on Thursday before closing the series Saturday.
Plainview closes the season with a 14-17-1 record.
Wylie advances to the area round to take on El Paso Del Valle. Game 1 is 6 p.m. Friday. Game 2 is 11 a.m. Saturday, and Game 3 follows, if necessary. All games will be played in Monahans.
Del Valle swept El Paso Chapin 7-6 and 12-2 in its bi-district series.
The Wylie/Del Valle winner plays the El Paso Hanks (20-11-1)/Lubbock Monterey (18-16) winner in the region quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Abilene Wylie sweeps Plainview in Class 5A bi-district baseball series
