Wildcat Jaxon Chaney hit a dramatic walk-off two run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Wildcats a big 4-2 district win over Hallsville Friday night at Wildcat Park that created a tri-championship in the district race.
The Wildcats, Hallsville and Texas High tied for the district championship with 9-3 records. The three teams will play games Saturday at Mount Pleasant to determine the district’s 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the playoffs. The Wildcats play Texas High at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Wildcats big Friday night win came on Senior Night.
Pacen Edwards was the winning pitcher. He threw the last three innings against Hallsville and gave up only two hits and no runs while striking out four and walking none. Ryan Humphries pitched the first seven innings and gave up eight hits and two runs, both of them unearned. Humphries struck out five and walked two.
The Wildcats scored first in the game in the bottom of the fourth when Chaney doubled with two outs and came home to score on a Dawson Draper single. The Wildcats led 1-0. The lead held up until Hallsville scored twice in the top of the sixth. The Wildcats had a chance to get out of the inning with the lead but a throw to first went wide allowing a Hallsville runner to score the tying run. A single scored the go-ahead run and Hallsville led 2-1 in the sixth. The Wildcats avoided defeat by scoring a tying run in the bottom of the seventh. Chaney opened the inning by striking out but he was able to reach first base when the third strike got away from the catcher. Draper then singled. Edwards hit a single into centerfield right through the pitcher’s legs that scored Chaney. The game was tied 2-2 through seven innings. The score stayed that way until the dramatic bottom of the tenth. With one out, Triston McCormick blooped a single into right field right between the second baseman and right fielder. Chaney then followed with a two-run homer that cleared the left field wall. The Wildcats won despite striking out twenty times and being outhit ten to six.
The Wildcats may have also lost McCormick. He injured his knee when a base runner collided with him after a throw pulled him off the first base bag. He continued to play but was limping noticeably.
The Wildcats improved their season record to 16-10.
