Randall’s Andrew Ramos delivers a pitch against Tascosa during a District 3-5A game at Randall on Tuesday. [Joe Garcia III/ Press Pass Sports]
On a windy Tuesday afternoon at Raider Field, the Randall Raiders gave a perfect snapshot of how they got to the current position they enjoy.
And it meant the No. 1 seed in District 3-5A.
In a low-scoring game dictated by the weather conditions, the Raiders felt perfectly at home against local rival Tascosa. Randall broke it open with five runs in the bottom of the third which more than held up for sophomore pitcher Andrew Ramos in a 6-0 victory which saw the Raiders clinch the top playoff seed in 3-5A.
The Raiders (19-7, 11-1 in district) were already in the playoffs, and in fact, all four 3-5A playoff teams had been determined before this week even began. All they had to do mathematically to clinch the No. 1 playoff spot was win one of their final four games.
While the Raiders can still mathematically tie with Amarillo High for the district title, they have the head-to-head edge in terms of seeding, since they beat the Sandies in two out of three games this season.
“We didn’t say one thing about a district championship or a No. 1 seed or anything else,” Randall coach Cory Hamilton said. “We just really focus game to game and if we can keep that mentality going throughout the playoffs you can play for a long time.”That business-like approach has served Randall well for almost the entire district season. After a loss to Amarillo High in the second district game of the season, the Raiders have won 10 straight 3-5A games.
They seem to have hit upon a successful formula in reaching the top. Randall has had easily the most consistent pitching of any team in the district, which has come in handy on days the offense isn’t quite as prolific.
With the wind blowing in Tuesday, offense was going to be at a premium against Tascosa (11-13-1, 6-6). That proved to be a challenge for a Randall lineup which has tended to struggle in the first few innings of games before breaking through by the third or fourth inning.
After two scoreless, hitless innings, the Raiders got all they needed at the plate in the third.
“It was a really difficult day to hit when the wind blows in, straight into the hitters’ face,” Hamilton said. “It’s a much better day to pitch than it is to hit, but luckily we got five in the third and helped the momentum get on our side. With the way Ramos was pitching, I thought two or three runs was going to be good on the day.”
The Raiders didn’t even get a hit to get their first run. Carson Haffner led off the inning by fighting for a lengthy walk off Tascosa starter Carson Smith, then scored the first run after a pair of errant throws on a pickoff attempt allowed him to come home.
Later, Randall had four straight hits to bring home four runs, as Payton Bush, Hagen Shedd, Ramos and Tyler McDaniel all had RBI singles.
Aside from a run which scored on a double-play grounder for Randall in the fourth, that was it for offense. All 10 hits in the game between the two teams were singles.
Ramos gave another stellar performance on the mound, striking out six and walking one for a complete-game win.
“The wind was obviously on our side and that works out when you’re pitching,” Ramos said. “It’s always feels good pitching with a lead, but as soon as we got one run I was already confident with it. I was happy because I got a lot of swings and misses and was pitching to contact.”
Amarillo High edges Palo Duro
In one of the more entertaining district games of the season, Amarillo High almost lost a 10-run lead against Palo Duro and held on for a 16-14 victory which gave the Sandies sole possession of second place in the district.
Amarillo High (15-8, 8-4) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Connor Haelzle and Hadley Cox started and ended the inning respectively with two-run home runs. The Sandies led 14-4 in the top of the fifth and were three outs away from invoking the 10-run mercy rule.
But Palo Duro (4-17, 1-11) roared back with eight runs in the bottom of the inning and not only got to keep playing but made the Sandies sweat. With two outs, the Dons put seven consecutive runners on base, helped along by three Amarillo High errors.
Amarillo High scored two runs in the top of the sixth for a 16-12 lead, but Palo Duro came back for two runs in the bottom of the seventh on Alven Rivero’s two-run triple. However, Sawyer Shipman came in to strike out the last two batters and pick up the save.
It was a historic win for AHS coach Randon Johnson, who picked up his 200th career victory. Ironically, Johnson’s first head coaching job was at Palo Duro.
Caprock surprises Plainview
Caprock played a spoiler’s role in hosting Plainview, as Roger King pitched a complete-game four-hitter to lead the Longhorns to a 3-1 victory which knocked Plainview out of a share of second place in the district.
The Longhorns (10-13, 3-9) fell behind 1-0 when Plainview (12-15-1, 7-5) broke four scoreless innings with an unearned run off King in the top of the fifth. But Caprock took the lead when Paul Allen doubled in a run to make it 2-1.
King then helped himself in the sixth by doubling home a run for some insurance.
District 4-4A
Dumas downs Canyon
After cruising through seven district games unbeaten, including the first six by run-rule, the Canyon Eagles had things crash down on them at Dumas, as they suffered their first district loss, 7-3.
Canyon (14-7, 7-1) now has a one-game lead over Pampa for the district lead. Dumas is now 9-14 and 4-4.
The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third on Ben Black’s RBI single. But Dumas responded with seven unanswered runs, as Armando Cardenas gave the Demons the lead for good with a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
District 1-3A
Bushland routs Dimmitt, River Road wins
The beat went on for the Bushland Falcons, who won their seventh straight run rule game to open district play, scoring 10 in the bottom of the fourth to beat Dimmitt 17-3 in five innings.
With a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons (16-2, 7-0) scored 10 runs to seal Dimmitt’s fate. The top five hitters in Bushland’s batting order all had at least two hits.
In another district game involving Amarillo metro teams, River Road beat Tulia 14-4 to remain in second place.
District scores
District 4-4A
Hereford 9, Borger 5
Pampa 17, Perryton 7
District 1-3A
Dalhart 18, Friona 8
District 1-2A
Booker 17, Boys Ranch 4.
Sanford-Fritch 8, WT High 7, (8)
Gruver 14, Sunray 9
District 2-2A
Clarendon 5, Wellington 3
District 2-1A
Nazareth 16, Valley 4