By Sandy Anderberg
The Clarendon Broncos claimed the baseball Area Championship last weekend in Plainview when they took down New Deal in a best two out of three game series.
The Broncos only needed the first two games to seal the victory and walk away one step closer to a state championship.
In the first game on Friday evening, the Broncos ousted the Lions, 7-2. Kade Hunsaker got it done on the mound and posted six strikeouts with only four walks in seven innings.
New Deal struck first when they put one run on the board in the first inning, but the Broncos answered back in the second when Caleb Cobb slammed a two-run double and Chance Lockhart singled.
The Broncos put up five runs in that innings to take a commanding lead. Clay Koetting went one for one in the game and helped the Broncos to the win.
The second game of the series proved to be the tougher test for the Broncos, but Caleb Cobb’s walk off home was huge and gave the Broncos the win at 9-8. Koetting was on the mound and pitched two-thirds shutout innings.
The Broncos took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Shadle got Clarendon’s offense going with a single, and Chance Lockhart followed suit with a single to advance Shadle. Andy Davis took his turn at the plate with another single that scored Shadle. There were a total of 10 lead changes in the game going down to the wire.
Preston Elam got in on the action with a two-run triple and Cobb racked up an RBI single to help the Broncos on the scoreboard. Late in the game, Davis had an RBI single that scored Damarjae Cortez.
“(I am) very proud of the way the boys battled today,” coach Brad Elam said. “It had been a while since we played seven innings plus having to come from behind. I thought the defense was fantastic today, and we hit the ball really well. We had two walk offs last year during the playoffs, add another one. This was on a homerun.”
The Broncos will take on Abernathy in the Regional Quarterfinals on Friday, May 20, at Randall High School beginning at 5:00 p.m. Game two will be on Saturday, May 21, at Randall at 1 p.m. If game three is needed it will follow game two immediately.
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