H.S. Baseball: Regala's two-run homer lifts Abilene Wylie over El Paso Del Valle in 8th
MONAHANS – Braden Regala’s two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning lifted Wylie to a 7-5 victory over El Paso Del Valle in Game 1 of the best-of-three Region I-5A area playoff baseball series Thursday.
Game 2 is 11 a.m. Friday at Monahans, and Game 3, if needed, would follow.
The winner plays the Lubbock Monterey/El Paso Hanks winner in the region quarterfinals next week. Monterey, the No. 2 seed from District 4-5A, beat Hanks 8-4 in the series’ opener Thursday in Odessa. Game 2 is 10 a.m. Friday at Permian.
Extra outs prove costly
Wylie (20-11-1), the No. 3 seed from District 4-5A, was fortunate to win the game in extra innings. It took three errors for the Bulldogs to pull out the victory.
They tied the game at 5 with a run in the fifth. Reese Borho reached on a one-out, two-base error. He scored when Hays Sipe also reached on an error – another misplayed fly ball in the outfield.
It remained tied until the top of the eighth. K.J. Long reached on a two-out, two-base error, and Regala followed with the game-winning blast.
Colby Garrett got three fly balls to end the game, after giving up a leadoff single.
Garrett got the win in relief. He retired four of the five batters he faced.
He relieved starter Brady Clark in the seventh, after Del Valle put runners at first and second with one out. But the Bulldogs threw out a runner trying to steal third before Garrett got a ground ball to preserve the tie.
Clark surrendered five runs on seven hits in 6⅓ innings. He struck out two and walked two.
Dogs start fast, Del Valle answers
Wylie jumped on the Conquistadores (21-8) for four runs in the top of the first inning.
The first four Bulldogs reached to open the game. Regala led off with a single, Garrett reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt and Borho was hit by a pitch. Tye Briscoe then walked, forcing in a run. Garrett scored on Sipe’s ground out to first, and Borho scored on Collin Bruning’s sacrifice fly. An error on the play allowed Briscoe to score as well for a 4-0 lead.
Del Valle cut the lead in half with two runs in the bottom of the first. The Conquistadores scored three runs in the third to take a 5-4 lead – all with two outs.
But Wylie answered, sending the game into extra innings before winning it on Regala's blast.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie nips El Paso Del Valle in baseball playoff series opener
