Beckville Ties White Oak for District Lead With 2-0 Victory
WHITE OAK -- It could have all come crashing down in an instant.
Beckville was one out away from closing out a district game against White Oak it desperately needed to win. It had done everything right up to this point, leading from the opening inning. It felt like a game the Bearcats would win.
But the Roughnecks weren't making things easy. They had runners on first and third after Elijah Trest sent a ball deep to right field to give White Oak some momentum.
As Trey Lindsay's pitch count surpassed 100, the Bearcats were forced to bring in Zeke Collins as relief. Collins showed no nerves. Facing his only batter of the night, he made just one miscue, throwing one ball and three strikes to ice the game as Beckville took a 2-0 victory back home.
The victory moved Beckville (19-2, 9-1 District 16-3A) into a tie for first place in district 16-3A with White Oak.
"Last time we played them it was just like this," coach Jason Causey said. "It was a 1-1 game going into the sixth or seventh and they got the big hit to take the lead. Tonight, Trey came out and pitched really well against (Trest). He kept us in the ball game and gave us a chance."
Lindsay pitched a near full game before Causey was forced to take him out (pitchers can't throw more than 110 pitches per game). He allowed only three hits -- two of which came in the final inning -- and struck out nine.
When Trest stepped up to the plate in the seventh, Lindsay knew it was the last batter he would see.
"We basically told him Trest was going to be his last hitter because of the pitch count," Causey said. "Up to that point, he had done a really good job against him. I just told him to go out there and if he hits it out of the ballpark, worst case scenario its a tie ball game. I didn't want to walk him and put the tying run on base. I wanted to at least make him earn it."
Trest reached the bases for only the second time all game and earned his only hit. Overall, Trest, who is committed to play for Arkansas next season, went 1-for-3 at the plate against Lindsay, including a first inning strikeout.
Lindsay also managed to score the first run. He was walked in his first at bat, reached second on a passed ball and ultimately scored after Ethan Harris hit a single down the middle to earn the RBI.
Harris scored the second and only other run of the game in the sixth inning. He stole third base and saw an open path to home after White Oak (16-5, 9-1) committed an error trying to get him out. As the ball whizzed past the third baseman, Harris trotted home to give the Bearcats a little more breathing room.
Trest pitched the full game for White Oak, allowing only two hits and striking out 10.
Both teams will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday, with White Oak facing Waskom and Beckville taking on Harleton.
If there is still a tie for first place at the end of the season, a tiebreaker game will be held to determine the district champion.
"It's a good win," Causey said. "We set goals at the beginning of the year to be district champs. Winning tonight allows us to still be in a position to do that. It's easy to get too high or too low, but with this group of guys, mostly seniors, this is their last hoorah. They've been starting for four years in a row and they're motivated. Winning a district championship is nice, but we need to get on a roll going into the playoffs because we've got big goals."
Beckville 2, White Oak 0
District 16-3A
At White Oak
Beckville 100 001 0 -- 2 2 3
White Oak 000 000 0 -- 0 3 3
Pitchers and catchers
- Beckville: Trey Lindsay (6.2), Zeke Collins and Ben Bridges
- White Oak: Elijah Trest and Zach Maly
WP -- Lindsay
LP -- Trest