The Pampa Harvesters (11-13, 4-8) traveled to Dumas on Friday where they took on the Demons as District 4-4A action starts to wind down for the season. The Harvesters had a brief 1-0 lead heading into the home half of the third, but it was short-lived as Dumas eventually took the 2-1 lead and eventual win in the third.
“We came out and (Junior) Gage Gamblin gave us a chance right away,” Head Coach Austin Samulowitz said. “He had a six-pitch first inning, which is great. (Senior) Tristan Bagwell made a great play on defense, had a ball to his right and on the move threw it to Gage Gamblin at first. A little 3-1 put out. Then we had an easy pop-out.
“Defensively, and pitching-wise Gage used his defense. He only had a few strikeouts but the defense played really great behind him. (Freshman) Phoenix Lopez I think threw four guys out on bases. He had a really great game. Offensively, we just couldn’t get it going against one of the best pitchers in our area, which has been the theme with pitchers around here lately."
The Harvesters' lone run came on an RBI single from Senior Boston Botello which plated Junior Cy LeBlanc. Gamblin knocked two strikeouts in the game, but kept the Harvesters in the game while pitching 4.2 innings and only giving up six hits, two earned runs and four walks. Samulowitz is encouraged by what he sees in his Junior pitcher.
“It was (Senior) Greyson Paronto’s turn in the rotation, but he pulled his hamstring a couple of weeks ago so he couldn’t go,” Samulowitz said. “So it was the next guy up, which is Gage Gamblin. Gage started for us a couple of games earlier in the season but has been in a relief position.
Gage Gamblin
“He came out and was excited about the start in a tough place to play. He came out, threw strikes, and made stuff happen. He’s a junior; we will have him next year, too.
The Harvesters will travel to Canyon tomorrow for their first contest against Canyon ISD schools when they take on the Eagles. They will end the season Friday when they host the West Plains Wolves. Both games are at 5 p.m.
“There’s no pressure going into the next two games,” Samulowitz said. “Our approach is to enjoy it, have fun, go to practice, and work on the little things. For a lot of guys, this is the last week of baseball practice that they will ever have. So we will try to keep it light, try to keep it fun but still get your work in. Don’t want to do anything too different cause we still have two really good teams coming down the pipe. So we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Stat Round-Up
Junior Gage Gamblin pitched 4.2 innings with six hits, two runs, two earned runs, four walks and two strikeouts; Freshman Cruise Godino pitched 1.1 with one walk and one strikeout.
Senior Max Neff went 1-4 and a stolen base; Senior Boston Botello went 1-4 with an RBI and a stolen base; Freshman Phoenix Lopez went 1-3; Senior Jack Dyer had a walk; Junior Cy LeBlanc had a run scored and a walk; and Senior Clayton Rogers had two stolen bases.