Yoe seniors go out with extra-inning win

There have been high and lows for this year’s Yoe baseball team, but on senior night, it was all positives as the Yoemen took down Academy in extra innings, 11-10. With the bases loaded and two out, junior Jale Walzel scored on a wild pitch.

Cameron, which finished 20-3A at 5-7, was a long-shot to make the playoffs entering play before the game.

The Yoemen needed to first beat Academy, have Jarrell lose to Lexington and have Rockdale upset Rogers on the same night. That all came to fruition, but Cameron still needs Jarrell (5-6) to lose to Rockale (1-10) on Tuesday to force a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot out of the district.

First-year head coach Hector Delgadillo and his players definitely know there were some opportunities that they let slip through their fingers earlier in the district schedule.

“Unfortunately, we put ourselves in that position and now it’s a sit and wait and see what happens,” said the coach. “We will reflect back on this season and look back on games we should have won. But, here we are and this is how it has played out in this district.”

At the start of the regular season finale, it appeared that Cameron was well on their way to perhaps the most comfortable district win of the year, going up 8-1, but the Bees continued to claw back, cutting it to 9-7 in the fourth before scoring three in the seventh to force the extra frames.

“You have to give Academy credit,” said Delgadillo. “They scratched and clawed and never gave in and most teams usually will. That was a good team we just played.”

Senior Zack Andress relieved starting pitcher Nick Alonso in the sixth, and surrendered three runs and the lead in the seventh, but remained unphased, holding the Bees scoreless the final two innings while not giving up a hit.

“I was just working on getting ground balls and letting my defense work,” Andress said. “I trust in them - I only had one strikeout and the rest were by the defense.”

“Zack is another senior and experienced guy that has been under pressure playing in big games,” added Delgadillo. “He gained composure after that inning and made some big pitches.” 

It was a good night for the seniors as a whole, as Garrett Roeder finished 2-5 with three runs driven in, while Bryce Brashear was also 2-5 and had what could have been a game-saving grab at second base in the seventh to prevent any further damage.

Cameron’s lone other senior - Rick Fuentes - scored a run and called the final pitch of the evening behind the plate.

“If we had any chance to play another game, it was right here,” said Andress. “It could be our last, it could not. We are hoping for the best.”

Friday Finals: Cameron Yoe 11, Academy 10; Lexington 6, Jarrell 1; Rockdale 3, Rogers 1.

Yoe misses out on playoffs

On Tuesday, the Jarrell Cougars made long trip over to Rockdale. Cameron simply had to have Jarrell lose to Rockdale to force a tie for the fourth playoff spot. The Cougars were going to have none of that, scoring 13 runs in the first three innings, to coast by the last place Tigers, 16-8.

Tuesday Finals: Jarrell 16, Rockdale 8; Rogers 3, Academy 2; Franklin 13, Lexington 8.

Final 20-3A Standings: 1. Franklin (11-1), 2. Lexington (8-4), 3. Academy (7-5), 4. Jarrell (6-6), 5. Cameron Yoe (5-7), 6. Rogers (4-8), 7. Rockdale (1-11).

The playoff matchups with 19-3A have been set for next week, with details on each match coming later in the week.

Franklin will take on fourth-place Groesbeck, Lexington draws three-seed Troy, Academy will play two-seed Clifton and Jarrell will take on baseball power and number one seed West in the bi-district round.

Cameron finishes the 2018 season with an overall record of 10-11-2 and misses out on the postseason for just the second time since 2011.