Westchase Express 4, Fresno A’s 3
Westchase rode the Eric Gonzalez Express to their second victory. Gonzalez went the distance allowing three runs while striking out six. Eric Thomas led the way at the plate. with an RBI for the Express while Ivan Silva and Jonas Garcia added to the triple craze at the 83rd NBCWS. Westchase held on late as Gonzalez only allowed one run in the final seven innings.
Hattiesburg Black Sox 11, Dallas Dirtbags 0
The Black Sox knew they would have work to do in order to put themselves in position to advance to Friday, and they busted out the sticks. Kedrick Martin got plenty of support but kept the shutout the run-rule shortened game going five innings and allowing just three baserunner. Kreg Garner drove in three runs and had a double in the win.
Great Bend Bat Cats 8, Inland Empire Golden Bears 4
Despite some pressure placed on them with a Black Sox win, the Bat Cats continued to dust off opponents. Benjamen Sims went 3-4 and scored three runs while Corrigan Bartlett drove in three runs. Mitch McIntyre went seven strong innings on the bump without allowing an earned run. Great Bend seals up a perfect pool play record and will meet up with Cheney on Friday Night.
Cheney Diamond Dawgs 12, Jasper Reds 2
Grant Devore and Travis Young were in the middle of a nine run fourth that helped Cheney run away from Jasper for Pool B. Devore was 3-4 with 3 runs scored and two driven in. Young was 2-3 with two runs scored and two driven in. Cheney will matchup with the Great Bend Bat Cats on Friday night.
SEE FINAL POOL STANDINGS FOR FIRST WEEK
Cheney Diamond Dawgs (KS)
The Diamond Dawgs raced through Pool B with a pair of run rules and a third victory by three runs. Overall, the offense was explosive averaging over 11 runs per game. Tresten Kennard has been going 5-10 with 10 RBI. The top six hitters in the Diamond Dawg lineup are all over .400 in the first three games. Six pitchers for the Diamond Dawgs have combined to work 13 scoreless innings
Dallas Dirtbags (TX)
The Dirtbags had some tough luck on the trip north but Dallas dealt with a swarm of tough teams. Mark Peterson stood out at First Base as he drove in five runs at the plate with a pair of 2 RBI games. Luke Cullum and Nico Garza both finished over .400.
Fresno A’s (CA)
The A’s represented the Western Association for their first NBCWS appearance. Anthony Ward paced the A’s at the plate going 5-10 in three games. Alec DeMaria went 4.2 for the longest A’s outing while Marco Gonzalez and Ubaldo Romo both made scoreless, inning-long appearances.
Great Bend Bat Cats (KS)
The Bat Cats certainly made their prescence known in their first NBCWS appearance. After disptaching the Dallas Dirtbags in game one, they pulled away from the Black Sox late. They’ll advance to Friday night’s win and in ball game against the Cheney Diamond Dawgs. Great Bend has been at the front of the Triple surge as Brennan Fontenot has three and Benjamin Sems has two.
Hattiesburg Black Sox (MS)
The Black Sox may have generated the most buzz in town of any team oustide of the state of Kansas in First Week. On the field Hattiesburg played with grit, battling back on the opening night to win game one 5-4 after being no-hit for the first six innings. aylyn Williams was a standout at the plate, helping to deliver the winning runs in the come from behind victory over the Golden Bears. After a night two loss to Great Bend, Hattiesburg woke up the bats for an 11-0 victory over Dallas in their final game. The win put them into position to advance with a Great Bend loss, which could have made run differential a factor. Exciting all the way to the end. Off the field, the Black Sox were very giving of their time to a community they had never been to in their 80 plus years of existence. Hattiesburg visited the Wesley Children’s Hospital, taking signed NBC Baseball’s to the kids.
Inland Empire Golden Bears (CA)
Every year of the three years for the Inland Empire Golden Bears has been a step forward. IE was created in 2015, made their first appearance in 2016 and in 2017 began consecutive appearances. This year they ran into a very tough Pool D but held tight against the top two teams from the Pool. A late inning loss on Sunday put pressure on the Bears to bounce back on Tuesday, which they grabbed a needed victory. Coming into Thursday’s feature game, a win by four runs over Great Bend would have advanced them to Friday. A long way in a short time for a scrappy team.
Jasper Reds (IN)
Perhaps no team in the NBC has been operating longer, dating back to the 1890’s. And while the Reds NBC experience started in 1993, their last win came in that World Series debut. The Reds pulled their first victory in 24 years defeating the Fresno A’s 8-5 and snapping an 11 game losing streak in Wichita during July and August dating back to 1993.
WestChase Express (TX)
The NBCWS debut of the WestChase Expres certainly had plenty of excitement. While Cheney created a large run differential in two run-ruled wins, WestChase hung tight in the pool with a blend of speed and timely hitting. Eric Thomas stole a pair of bags while Allan Hooker finished 4-10 with 5 RBI and three runs scored.
Crazy 8’s:
There have been 32 triples in the 24 Pool Play Games while just 8 home runs.
