GC Baseball: Tigers bounce back, rip Nac 12-3 to win Area series; face Ennis next

May 16—Heath Autrey loves to talk about how this Tiger team might just be the most resilient group he has had in his 10 years at Corsicana.

The Tigers did it again Saturday afternoon, bouncing back one more time by exploding with an eight-run first inning that ignited a 12-3 victory over Nacogdoches in Game 3 of the best-of-three series in the 5A Region II Area Round of the playoffs.

The Tigers looked like the team in the old Bugs Bunny cartoon when one batter after another gets a hit to the backdrop music from a Conga line — ta-ta-ta-ta-ta boom! ta-ta-ta-ta-ta boom!

Kolby Kinkade, who lost a heartbreaker in Game 2, got the Tigers on the board when he walked with the bases loaded, and the Tigers just kept coming and coming, and scoring and scoring.

They sent 13 batters to the plate in the first, banged out seven hits, including four RBI singles in a row by Brydan Hernandez, Solomon James, Austin Pryor and Connor Means — ta-ta-ta-ta-ta boom!

The first six batters in the lineup scored as No. 9 hitter Bradley Gruver, who always seems to come through in big games, brought home James with the 6-0 lead. Then Means and Gruver scored on a single from Hunter Autrey and a fielder's choice by Adin Morehouse.

The Tigers' first three hitters in the lineup — Miguel Luevano, Hunter Autrey and Morehouse — all reached base twice in the first inning. Suddenly, after scoring just three runs in the first two games, the Tigers had an 8-2 lead after one inning in Game 3.

They added a three-spot in the third to go up 11-2. Gruver led off with a single, Luevano ripped his second single in a row and Autrey doubled home two runs. Then Autrey, who doubled, singled, walked twice, and drove in three runs in the game, scored his second run on Hernandez's sac fly to make it 11-2.

The Tigers added a run in the sixth when Adrian Baston, who entered the game in the sixth along with Tyler Slaughter and Rudy Beck, ripped a pinch-hit triple to right and came home on a wild throw from Nac right fielder Isaac Jones.

Jones entered the game after Nac's starting right fielder was ejected in a long fourth inning delay that also saw a Nacogdoches fan get ejected by an umpire crew that was from East Texas.

The Tigers could have easily won the game by the mercy-rule, but they stranded two runners in the fifth and left the bases loaded in the sixth. Even though it wasn't a run-rule game, it felt like one.

They will now face Ennis, which beat Texarkana Texas High Saturday to advance to the 5A Region II Quarterfinals. The Tigers split two games with Ennis in the District 14-5A season.

This is the second consecutive trip to the Region II Quarterfinals for the Tigers, who advanced to the state tournament in 2019. They defeated district rival Joshua in the quarterfinals in 2019. The season was canceled in 2020.

They marched to the Area Round this season by winning the 14-5A title and sweeping Forney in the bi-district round, and opened the Area Round with a 2-0 win at Nacogdoches Thursday night.

But Nacogdoches came back and forced Game 3 with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 earlier Saturday, stopping the Tigers with a brilliant pitching performance from Reid Boyett.

Kinkade, Corsicana's ace who struck out 10 while giving up just five hits and two earned runs, pitched a gem but suffered the tough loss in Game 2. He gave up a solo homer in the first, an unearned run in the fifth and a run in the sixth.

Nacogdoches (24-11) had all the momentum and a loud dugout after winning Game 2 and scoring two runs in the top of the first to start Game 3.

Then Autrey's resilient Tigers stormed back.

A base running mistake helped kill Nac's first inning rally when Will Furniss, who homered in Game 2, was caught between second and third for the first out of the inning. That seemed to settle down Tiger starter Zane Petty, who had given up three hits to start the game.

Petty slammed the door by getting a come-backer to the mound and a strikeout to end the inning, and then he didn't give up another hit until the fourth. By then the Tigers had built an 11-2 lead. Petty, a junior, struck out five and walked two over four innings in earning the win. He's 7-2.

Hernandez came in to start the fifth and closed out Nacogdoches with three scoreless innings of relief. Hernandez tossed two scoreless innings of relief in the Tigers' 2-0 win in Game I.

James, who hadn't pitched in a month when he took the mound in Nacogdoches Thursday night, pitched five shutout innings to get the win as James and Hernandez combined to throw a three-hitter.

After two incredibly close, well-pitched games, Game 3 turned into a laugher. By the time it was over the Tigers (26-9) had scored more runs than in any of their 35 games this season, and had pounded out 15 hits with Beck getting the final knock with a pinch-hit single in the sixth. Eight Tigers drove in at least one run, and nine Tigers scored at least once while Luevano, Autrey and Gruver scored twice.

But in the end, it was still pitching and defense that carried the series for the Tigers. The Tiger pitching staff allowed just six runs (five earned) in three games and gave up only 14 hits to the Dragons, who hit .330 as a team this year.

Evidently, the Tigers aren't just resilient — they're resilient with a deep pitching staff.