Bronco Freshman Baseball Sweeps Tioga Tournament 4-0

Game 1 VS Tioga

Sam Houston used 9 hits and 4 walks to capture a 12-2 win over Tioga in their opening game of the Tioga HS round robin tournament Friday afternoon. After starting out the game at the plate with a 3 up 3 down inning, the visiting Broncos scored 2, 4, and 6 runs respectively in the final 3 innings to announce their presence to central Louisiana. The Tioga Indians scored 1 in the first and 1 in the last inning but were never really in the game after the second inning.

Tanner Stewart and Adam Chase both had 2 hits apiece for the freshman team. Austin Gordon, Evan Campbell, Zach Rome, Kameron Esthay, and Jack Hall all added hits as well. Campbell, Rome, and Esthay each crossed the plate twice. Campbell was not to be denied on the mound either, as he pitched 4 innings of 2 hit ball, allowing both runs and striking out 6.

Game 2 VS Menard

The Menard Eagles offered quite a test for the SHHS Broncos in the early going, but couldn’t handle the pressure as the game wore on. The Broncos defeated the Eagles 10-5 in game 2 of the tournament. Collin Kober proved to be a sparkplug at the top of the lineup for Sam Houston, going 2 for 3 at the plate, scoring 2 runs and knocking in 2 from the lead-off position. Kameron Esthay, Lance Quibodeaux, and Tanner Stewart also scored twice.

After falling behind 4-1 going to the bottom of the 2^nd, the Broncos showed their mettle by answering with 5 runs in their half of the frame. 3 hits added to a walk and 3 hit batters, as well as an error, all led to the pivotal runs scored in that inning. After shutting down the Eagles with no runs in the top of the 3^rd, the Broncos put the game away with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3^rd.

Austin Gordon took advantage of the offensive support. He allowed 4 runs in 3 innings on 3 hits, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout. Derek Laporte took over from there, pitching the last 2 innings, striking out 2 and allowing only 1  run on 1 hit.

Game 3 VS Neville

Again the Broncos spotted the opposing team the lead in the early going as the Neville Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1^st inning and held a 3-1 lead as the Broncos came to bat in the bottom of the 3^rd. The Broncos sent 8 batters to the plate in that inning. Collin Kober (2-3, 3 runs, 1 rbi) started the inning with a walk, then stole 2^nd and advanced to 3^rd on a throwing error by the catcher. Lance Quibodeaux drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right. Evan Campbell doubled, Eric Peterson reached base after being hit by a pitch. Following a Kameron Esthay walk, Tanner Stewart drove in 2 runs with a single. Adam Chase capped the scoring in that inning by driving in the 5^th run with a single. The offense provided 2 runs in each of the 4^th and 5^th innings.

Kober went the distance on the mound. After allowing the 3 early runs, he allowed 2 meaningless runs in the final inning to get the win. He gave up 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3. Austin Gordon, Peterson (2 rbi), and Campbell (2b, 3b, and 2 runs) all had 2 hits for the Broncos.

Game 4 VS Pineville

The Broncos combined a balanced offense with great pitching early on to defeat the Pineville Rebels 7-3 in the final game of the Tioga HS tournament. Zach Rome started on the mound, reversing the trend of the opposing team jumping out to an early lead against the Broncos. He threw shutout ball through the first 3 innings of the game.

Sam Houston stretched out 7 hits and 4 walks during the game to score their 7 runs. After going 3 up 3 down in the 1^st inning, the offense scored the first run on an RBI triple by Kameron Esthay. Brett Gault then walked , stole 2^nd, and then scored on a ground out by Cody Andres after Derek Laporte had knocked in Esthay with a single. Esthay added the 4^th and 5^th runs for the Broncos with another triple in the 3^rd inning. SHHS scored single runs in each of the final 2 innings.

Rome picked up the win with 5 1/3^rd innings of 6 hit 2 run ball. He struck out 1 and didn’t walk a batter. Blake Caswell finished it off getting the final two outs. Evan Campbell scored 3 runs in the game on 2 walks and 1 hit. Eric Peterson, Rome, and Collin Kober all added hits for the freshman team.