Johnson County baseball roundup, March 17-18

Mar. 20—Johnson County baseball results from Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18:

— Cleburne 8, Crowley 2

The Cleburne Yellow Jackets picked up an 8-2 win Saturday night at Crowley in a non-district showdown between former district foes.

Cleburne (14-5-1) fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning before storming back with six runs in the top of the fifth inning and two more runs in the sixth.

In the bottom of the first, the Eagles loaded the bases with one out on back-to-back hit-by-pitches and an infield single. Crowley then drew a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 lead and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to make it 2-0.

But after the rough start, Cleburne junior pitcher Mason Runnels settled down and held the Eagles scoreless over his next three innings of work. Runnels allowed one hit with four walks and two runs with six strikeouts in four innings. Ethan Polasek pitched the final three innings and struck out six without a hit or walk allowed.

Facing a 2-0 deficit through the first four innings, Cleburne finally got a rally going in the fifth. Zack Moore and Anthony Reaves hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie things up at 2-2. After an error and a pop-out, Moore scored on a passed ball for a 3-2 lead then Falon Trevino hit a two-out RBI single to score Reaves for a 4-2 advantage.

The Jackets made it 5-2 on an error then Polasek hit an RBI single to score Trevino for a 6-2 lead.

In the sixth inning, Cleburne had another two-out rally as Reaves hit an RBI double to score Moore then A.J. Tapia followed with an RBI double for a commanding 8-2 lead.

Reaves was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs to lead the Jackets at the plate. Moore went 1-for-3 with two runs, one walk and one RBI, and Trevino was 1-for-3 with a walk, one run and one RBI.

The Jackets are scheduled to host Joshua at 7 p.m. tonight to resume district play in a battle between the top two teams in District 8-5A play. The Owls enter with a 4-1 mark in league action while Cleburne is 3-1.

—Joshua 12, Timberview 6

—Joshua 2, Arlington Seguin 0

The Joshua Owls improved to 4-1 in District 8-5A play with a 12-6 win over Mansfield Timberview on Thursday then a 2-0 win over Arlington Seguin on Friday.

On Thursday, the Owls finished off a sweep of Mansfield Timberview with come-from-behind win over the Wolves.

Mansfield Timberview held leads of 3-0 in the second inning and 5-3 in the fifth inning before Joshua erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control.

In Joshua's win Thursday night, Hank Berkner went 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI, Jonah McDaniel was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run, and Easton Purcell was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run to lead the Owls.

In Friday's 2-0 win over the Cougars, Aidan Haskins and Tanner Holman struck out nine batters with only three hits and three walks allowed for a combined shutout. Haskins struck out seven with three hits and three walks allowed in five innings of work while Holman struck out two in two perfect innings.

After two scoreless innings, the Owls grabbed a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by A.J. Charles. And the score remained 1-0 until Joshua doubled its lead on an RBI triple by Gavin Massey in the sixth inning.

Charles went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI while Massey was 1-for-3 with one RBI to lead the Owls.

Joshua will visit Cleburne at 7 p.m. tonight and then the Owls will host the Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m. Friday.

—Godley 4, Decatur 2

—Godley 8, Springtown 0

The Godley Wildcats improved to 15-1-1 on the season with wins over Decatur on Thursday and Springtown on Friday.

On Thursday, the Wildcats scored one run in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie and claim a 4-2 victory over the Eagles.

Owen Roever and Kole Allen combined to hold Decatur to two base hits and no earned runs. Roever allowed two hits and one walk with three strikeouts and two unearned runs while Allen worked three perfect innings with two strikeouts.

Jaydon Spurlock hit a one-out RBI double for the go-ahead run in the fifth inning then Tate Grimsley added an insurance run in the sixth inning with an RBI groundout.

Grimsley was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, Byron McClure went 2-for-3, Spurlock was 1-for-3 with one RBI and a walk, and Allen was 1-for-4 with a run.

In Friday's 8-0 win over Springtown, Ethan Davies and Lucas Ponce combined for the two-hit shutout. Davies surrendered two hits and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings pitched while Ponce struck out five of the six batters he faced in two perfect innings.

Offensivley, Ponce went 3-for-3 with two runs, one RBI and a walk to lead the Wildcats, who pushed across five runs in the third inning to take control of the game.

Godley is scheduled to open District 10-4A play at 7 p.m. tonight when the Wildcats host Hillsboro.

—Grandview 11, Alvarado 5

—Waxahachie Life 4, Grandview 3

The Grandview Zebras went 1-1 in non-district affairs Friday and Saturday with an 11-5 win over Alvarado and a 4-3 loss to Waxahachie Life.

In Friday's win over the Indians, Grandview scored in five of the six innings the Zebras batted, including a four-run sixth inning to turn a 7-3 lead into an 11-3 lead.

Four players collected multi-hit days for the Zebras: Ely Reeves was 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs and one RBI, Taylor Valerius was 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs, Carter Collins went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs and a walk, and Ryan Shaw was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Grandview's Ely Reeves allowed four hits and no earned runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings pitched for the win.

On Saturday, the Zebras carried a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning but surrendered four runs to the Mustangs in the top of the seventh for a 4-3 loss.

Grandview grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a bases-loaded walk by Wesley Hanna and an RBI groundout by Mason Metzler. Then the Zebras made it 3-0 on an RBI single by Metzler.

But Grandview couldn't add to its lead and the Mustangs took advantage with four runs on three hits, one walk and two sacrifice bunts for the come-from-behind win.

Metzler was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and Hanna was 1-for-2 with two walks, one run and one RBI to lead the Zebras.

Grandview is scheduled to open District 17-3A play at 7 p.m. tonight at Whitney then the Zebras will host the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Friday.