Jackets tripped up at home against Jaguars
Apr. 19—CLEBURNE — After taking down the Midlothian Heritage Jaguars in a 7-0 road contest Tuesday night, the Cleburne Yellow Jackets baseball team hosted the same squad in their home stadium Friday night. Both teams entered this matchup in a three-way tie with the Midlothian Panthers, who each owned a 10-3 district record entering Friday evening.
With a win coupled with potential Burleson win over Midlothian, first place would be solely in Cleburne's possession. However, a fast start by the visiting Jaguars proved to be the difference maker early as Cleburne fell 9-1 at home.
Cleburne senior Falon Trevino — an East Central University commit — got the start on the mound. After the Yellow Jackets silenced the Jaguar bats Tuesday night, Midlothian Heritage revived its offensive attack with two early runs to open the game. With runners on the corners, the Jaguars notched an RBI double that scored a pair of runs. The Cleburne defense limited the damage afterwards with impressive diving catches in centerfield and left field.
The Jacket offense managed two base runners in scoring position in the bottom of the frame but was unable to cut into the deficit. Cleburne threatened again in the bottom of the second inning, getting a runner to second with no outs but was stranded.
After the visitors added another run to their total in the top of the third inning after a pair of throwing errors, Cleburne used small ball in the bottom of the third to get on the board. The home team opened the inning with a walk followed by a steal of second base. Then, back-to-back sacrifice flies — the last coming from sophomore Malachi Cunningham — trimmed the deficit to 3-1.
Unfortunately, the two-run margin was as close as Cleburne could close the gap. Favela pitched into the sixth inning and only allowed one more run and had multiple defensive gems, but when he reached 99 pitches, he was subbed out and the Jaguars exploded for six runs to put the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, Cleburne (19-11, 10-4) could still finish as high as first place in District 8-5A but needs to win its last two games against Mansfield Summit along with a loss apiece from Midlothian and Midlothian Heritage, who will face Burleson Centennial and Joshua in their respective series. If that scenario played out, the three teams would likely face off following the conclusion of the regular season to determine seeding.
Next, the Yellow Jackets will host Mansfield Summit at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
