The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Dave Rogers

For the Record

The high school baseball playoffs for Orange County teams came to a sudden ending last weekend as China Spring rallied from a 9-6 deficit to defeat Bridge City 10-9 on a walkoff two-RBI hit.

That came on Saturday, 48 hours after West Orange-Stark’s season ended with a 4-2 loss to Robinson.

The Mustangs’ bid to return to the state tournament for the second time in three years ended with a 27-4 record after coming up short in their one-game playoff.

Bridge City, the third-place finisher in District 22-4A, finished 21-14 overall.

China Spring, BC exchange rallies

After falling 5-2 in Thursday’s opener after leading 2-0, the Cardinals used a six-run fifth inning to power past China Spring 10-8 in the second game of the best-of-three series Saturday and force a winner-take-all finale.

The Cards opened the final game with a four-run first frame but trailed 6-4 after five innings. That’s when they scored five runs in the sixth to lead 9-6.

But China Spring fought back to within 9-8 after its half of the sixth, then plated two runs on a two-out, two-strike bases-loaded hit in the bottom of the seventh.

The Cards used a total of five pitchers in the final game of the series played totally at Montgomery High School.

Caleb Dubois, Kevin Gordon, Logan Hamm and Justyn Romero all went 2 for 4 in the final game, with Dubois knocking in a pair of runs. In all, BC had 13 hits in the game but its pitching issued nine walks.

In the Cardinals’ 10-8 win, Schuyler Thibodaux, Dubois and Gordon were each 2 for 4, with Dubois driving in a pair of runs.

Jacob Goodman and Romero split the pitching duties, each pitching three-plus innings.

Bridge City only had four hits in the opening loss, with Thibodaux going 2 for 4.

Mustang rally comes up short

Robinson scored three runs in the first two innings and a West Orange-Stark comeback came up short in the two schools’ one-game playoff last Thursday at Magnolia High.

Jack Dallas struck out nine but was limited to pitching five innings by a high pitch count. And he had the only hit of the first five innings for WOS, a two-out triple in the first. But he was stranded.

Robinson pitcher Dru Dziedzick was masterful until the Mustangs chased him from the game in the sixth, with two-out RBI singles by Ryan Ragsdale and Chad Dallas.

Those hits cut the WOS deficit to 3-2 but the Rockets were able to add a run in the bottom of the sixth.