Wylie advances to Class 5A Regional Semifinals with run-rule victory against Del Valle
MONAHANS — Abilene Wylie's sweep-clinching 11-0 victory against Del Valle was as thorough as the score suggests, but the Bulldogs earned their trip to the Class 5A Regional Semifinals in the most straightforward way imaginable.
The Bulldogs' pitching was overwhelming.
Brooks Gay threw a complete-game one-hitter, finishing a two-game regional quarterfinals sweep where Wylie held the Conquistadors to three hits and one run.
More: UIL Class 5A baseball playoffs
What they said
"The kid who threw today was just money, he did a wonderful job," Del Valle coach John Beard said. "He moved the ball around, he was in and out, he changed the speeds on his pitches. He kept us off balance a little bit.
"That's the best pitching we've seen in the playoffs up to this point. I tip my hat to those guys."
Gay threw 75 pitches in five innings, getting a spectacular catch from left-fielder Braden Regala while striking out six.
"It was fun," he said. "We came out with a lot of energy and hit the ball well. I threw some strikes and let the defense work. This means a lot. We knew it would be a tough round, we knew we were going to have to compete and I felt like we did a good job."
Wylie offense gets on track
After winning Thursday's opener 3-1 and taking what proved to be a decisive 2-0 lead in the second inning Friday on timely small ball, the Bulldogs broke out the big bats in a six-run third that settled the series.
Previous: Abilene Wylie baseball team rolls into playoffs despite big hit at graduation last year
Tye Briscoe led off the five-hit inning with a triple and Landon Williams later added a home run. Williams was 3-for-3 in the game while Briscoe was two-for-two with a walk and a double to go with his triple and scored twice.
Reese Borho was two-for-two with a triple, a sacrifice bunt and two runs scored. Wylie had 13 hits in four innings.
"We played good defense all series, we got two good pitching performances from our guys, two complete games and we hit the ball well," Wylie coach Grant Martin said. "We know there will be adversity in our way, we handled that good and we're excited for the chance to keep playing."
Del Valle concludes special season
The Conquistadors concluded Beard's first year as head coach with a 25-8 record and plenty to feel proud about.
Previous: It's been team effort for Del Valle's baseball team in successful run to regional quarters
"These seniors mean everything to me," Beard said. "We came in at the same time, three years ago when I was an assistant coach. Coaching this group of kids has been an awesome experience. These kids have fought all year long, a classy group of kids, a classy group of parents, a classy group of coaches who have bought in and done an awesome job to help us get here."
Up next
Wylie will play either Burleson Centennial or Aledo in the Class 5A Regional Semifinals next week at sites and times to be determined.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Abilene Wylie baseball beats Del Valle, advances to regional semis
