Photo courtesy of Cartershots
A late Hereford rally in the sixth and seventh innings staved off a Pampa Harvesters (11-10, 4-5) surge in the bottom of the fifth as Pampa fell to the Whitefaces 8-6.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Austin Samulowitz said he is proud of how his guys competed against one of the best players in the District.
“Super proud of how we competed,” Samulowitz said. “Getting down 4-0 against the best player in the district is not easy to come back on. We knew we had a pretty deep hole to dig out of.
“But Austin Hunt, our freshman shortstop, got us on the board early-to-midway through the game with a two-run single. (Senior Pitcher) Greyson Paronto gave us a chance to win. (Junior Pitcher) Gage Gamblin did a good job with middle relief, and we kind of climbed our way back into it. But just didn’t quite come out on top.”
The Harvesters hosted Teacher Appreciation Day at the ballpark at Harvester Field as a chance for the players to show appreciation for those educators who make an impact in their daily lives.
“Everybody likes being told ‘thank you,' and I don’t think our teachers are told that enough,” Samulowtiz said. “I know we are all appreciated, but it’s nice to hear it. It’s good for our kids to give. It’s important that our kids learn how to serve others and treat others well. Anytime we can give back to the people that take care of them, it’s super-important that they do that.”
The Harvesters found themselves down 4-0 in the bottom of the second until Senior Clayton Rogers found himself base after a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Senior Conner Hall hit a ground ball tough for Hereford to handle and put runners in scoring position. That set up Freshman Austin Hunt for an RBI double to put Pampa on the board.
“We’re super excited to have him and [freshman Phoenix Lopez] for the next three years,” Samulowitz said. “We have thrown them out to the wolves as freshmen in one of the best districts in the region. They’ve had their growing pains. They’ve had their rough games.
“The thing I’m most excited about for them is they’re growing, they’re learning, and they’re not making the same mistakes over and over again. Austin went 3-3 against the best pitcher in the district yesterday. As a 14-or-15-year-old, that’s huge. I’m very proud of them that the future looks good for us.”
It was nothing doing for both squads until the bottom of the fifth. Hunt hit a single on a line drive to center, followed by a two-out walk by Senior Max Neff. The very next batter, Senior Boston Botello hit a 1-0 ball to deep right field, scoring Neff and Hunt and putting Pampa on top 5-4.
“Boston had been very clutch all year,” Samulowtiz said. “He had the go-ahead RBI run against Perryton and he came up yesterday with two people on and hit a go-ahead three-run home run, which was huge at the bottom of the fifth.
“We just needed six outs (at that point). I’m super proud of him. He hasn’t had the best district play, so far, but he has been clutch when we needed him most.”
Unfortunately, Hereford added two runs in the top of the sixth and another in the top of the seventh to escape with the 8-6 win.
The Harvesters head to the road on Friday, weather permitting, to take on Perryton and look for the sweep over the Rangers.
“Playing in district is always difficult,” Samulowitz said. “No matter what year it is, no matter wind or rain, no matter how good or bad they are, it’s a tough place to win. We’re going to gear up, we’re going to give them all we got and we kind of know that if we want to make the playoffs, first we’ve got to win. Jaime (Soto, junior pitcher) is going to be on the mound, and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
Stat Roundup
Senior Greyson Paronto pitched 2.1 innings with six hits, four runs, four earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts; Junior Gage Gamblin pitched 3.2 innings with four hits, four runs, one earned run, three walks and two strikeouts; Freshman Austin Hunt went one inning with one hit and one walk.
Senior Max Neff went 1-3 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk; Senior Boston Botello went 1-4 with a run scored, three RBI and a home run; Senior Clayton Rogers had a run scored; Senior Conner Hall had a run scored; Freshman Austin Hunt went 3-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, two doubles and a stolen base.
