NV finishes strong; EB captures two

From coaches reports

Needville 10, Columbus 5 (11)

COLUMBUS - Needville was extended to 11 innings before exploding for six runs and taking out Columbus Tuesday night at Cardinal Field.

With the win, the Blue Jays go into Saturday's showdown with rival Sweeny unbeaten in District 24-3A play (5-0) and overall (13-0).

In the 11th, Kobie Hajdik doubled and eventually scored on a passed ball. After Colton Schmidt and Bryan Buzek singled, both scored on Corey Hail's triple. Bradley Porras made it 8-4 with an RBI single.

With two out, Mike McGuire doubled home both Bradley Porras and Trey Porras (double). Hajdik singled and a passed ball got McGuire home.

McGuire, who came on in the eighth in relief of starter Rikky Salazar, gave up a run in the bottom of the 11th before closing out the Cardinals.

Needville scored twice in the second on an error and Schmidt's RBI single. The lead grew to 3-0 in the third when Kody Neel singled and scored on a Trey Porras base hit.

Columbus tied it in the third, but the Blue Jays answered with a run in the fifth on Salazar's RBI single.

East Bernard 6, Hitchcock 5

EAST BERNARD - East Bernard improved to 2-0 in District 27-2A play by outlasting Hitchcock at Koym Field.

The Brahmas took a 3-0 lead, scoring one in the first Matt Stelzel scored on an Aaron Alexander double. Two came across in the second on wild pitches and a Chris Plunkett sacrifice fly.

Hitchcock scored twice in the third, but East Bernard added one on Alexander's solo home run to make it 4-2.

The Bulldogs added three in the fourth to take the lead, but the Brahmas tied it right away when Plunkett scored on a wild pitch. Cruz then led off the fifth with a home run for the final run.

Winning pitcher James Powell went five innings to get the win. Cruz came on for the final two innings and earned the save.

East Bernard 10, Van Vleck 7

VAN VLECK - East Bernard overcame an early deficit, scoring six runs in the sixth to stun Van Vleck in the District 27-2A opener.

In the sixth, a Chris Plunkett sacrifice fly and Aaron Alexander's single to drive in Cameron Mazoch tied the game. Clinton Graves singled in Matt Stelzel and Anthony Cruz singled home Alexander. An error got courtesy runner Ricky Simpson home.

The Brahmas trailed 7-0 after the second, but put up three in the third on a two-run double by Graves and a wild pitch that got him home. A run in the fifth off an Anthony Cruz double trimmed the deficit to 7-4.

Winning pitcher Cameron Orsak overcame a rocky start to allow just one hit after the second. He struck out eight.

Kempner 12, Austin 6

SUGAR LAND - Kempner struck early and went on to defeat Austin in a District 23-5A showdown between the top teams in the standings.

The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the first on home runs by Barrett Barnes and Adam Shank. But Kempner scored seven unanswered runs to take the lead for good off Benn Fairbanks.