Abilene Christian High scores twice in bottom of the 7th to win 'home opener'
Keatan Allen scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete a two-run rally as Abilene Christian High edged the Lubbock Trinity JV 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
The game was the first played at Hudson Wade Memorial Field on the north side of the campus.
ACHS is 5-3 for the season.
Davis Patteson pitched five scoreless innings and the Panthers led 1-0 going into the sixth.
Aaron Mauldin led off the third with an infield single off the pitcher's glove, advanced to third on a bunt single with two outs and scored on an error.
The lead held up until the sixth.
That's when the Lions struck for two runs without getting a ball out of the infield.
In fact, Trinity managed only a couple of infield hits in the game but both - each grounders flagged down between first and second - were key in the go-ahead rally. Two ACHS errors didn't help, the tying run scored by opposing pitcher Garrett Rowden, who led off the inning by reaching on an error.
An RBI groundout by Cooper Nesmith gave the Lions a 2-1 lead.
Rowden set down the Panthers in the bottom of the sixth but ACHS reliever Carson Schweithale, who had come on in the sixth, went 1-2-3- in the top of the seventh.
That set the stage for the rally.
Nathan Garza was hit by a pitch to lead off and both Allen and Mateo Flores reached base on infield hits.
Mauldin singled to left field against reliever Nesmith - the only hit of the game out of the infield - to send in Garza with the tying run.
Nesmith then uncorked a wild pitch with the bases still loaded, sending Allen sliding home with the winning run.
First-year coach Phillip Hall called his team's win gritty.
"This school is in a perfect place to be to have a phenomenal baseball program," Hall said. "I laid out a pretty simple plan; we're going to be gritty and get after people. We're going to play with some attitude, intensity and toughness.
"And it's showing. It's paying off. It's all them. It ain't me."
Patteson did not give up a hit and walked three. He struck out nine of the 15 outs his team registered.
Hale said he made the change on the mound on a cool, windy day to protect his pitcher.
"I'm not a fan of burning a kid's arm just to win a game. This is going to be a long stretch run for us," Hall said. "Our ultimate goal is to play for the ultimate prize."
Hale was all smiles after the game.
"Things went right, things went wrong and things went right again," he said. "You have to be willing to stand in there. You've got to be willing to go toe to toe with folks and not back down."
Not at your new ballpark.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: ACHS scores twice in bottom of the 7th to win 'home opener'
