TEXARKANA, Texas -- It was senior night Tuesday at Hawk Field in The Grove, and Pleasant Grove relied on theirs to keep them atop District 15-4A with a 10-0 baseball win over Sulphur Springs.
Justin Poe and Grady Mueller threw five shutout innings, Brenton Clark scored two runs, Cade Martin scored a run and played superbly behind the plate, and Landon Thompson ignited a two-out rally that salted the game away in the bottom of the fifth.
The win leaves PG ranked No. 6 statewide, atop the district with an 11-1 record, one game ahead of No. 8 Liberty-Eylau. The Leopards evened the season record with their crosstown rivals with a 3-2-win Saturday. The two will play the rubber match in the regular-season finale at PG on April 26.
Poe allowed quick two hits in the first inning and then settled down. He picked up the win with three strikeouts and a walk. Mueller relieved him in the top of the fourth. He struck out two, walked one, and did not allow a hit.
"Justin Poe came out and did exactly what we needed him to do tonight," said PG coach Riley Fincher. "He filled the zone with strikes and relied on his defense to back him up. Mueller also filled the zone with strikes and counted on this great defense."
Hunter Rose got Mueller off to a fast start with a diving, ankle-high catch to snuff out a potential rally in the fourth frame.
PG started fast. The Hawks wasted no time putting up a crooked number, taking advantage of a walk and two errors to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Clark led off with a triple and scored when Sulphur Springs shortstop Alex Macias booted a hard shot off the bat of Jarret Halter. Spencer Browning followed with a double to bring in Halter.
Buck Anderson doubled to bring in Browning and Rose, who had singled. An outfield error brought in Rose.
The Hawks added two more runs in the second after Clark was hit by a pitch and Halter moved him to third. Browning and Martin followed with infield sacrifices to bring them in.
Ty Boozer led off the third with a double and came home on a single by Browning.
Up 8-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Hawks needed two more runs to invoke the mercy rule. It looked like it would not happen after Macias, who moved to the mound in the third, elicited two quick outs.
Fincher sent to the plate Thompson, who was still looking for his first hit of the season.
The senior drove a hard liner deep into the left corner and, despite doing a pirouette around first after his foot caught on the bag, was able to jog into second.
The next batter, Jace Elrod, launched a shot high over the gap in right-center to end the game.
Pleasant Grove's next two games are on the road, at North Lamar on Friday and at Pittsburg next Tuesday.
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SOFTBALL
Pleasant Grove 18, Paris 6
PARIS, Texas -- Pleasant Grove closed out its regular season with an 18-6 victory over the Paris Lady Wildcats Tuesday night.
The Hawks took advantage of 14 walks to even their season record at 11-11, improve their District 15-4A mark to 8-2, and stake out a decisive grip on second place. The young Hawks, who have but one senior on the roster, will meet Athens or Brownsboro in a bi-district playoff game.
"Our focus now is on competing, At this point, it is either win or go home," said coach Becca Collum. We need to continue to pay attention to details and stay on the task at hand.
"We want to keep our growth mindset and above all, keep playing with grit."
Sarah Hackleman picked up the win in Paris, going the distance in the circle.
Kasidy Ingram drove in four runs, Haily Allen drove in two and scored three, and Jacklynn Smith, Raiann Brewer, Addison Dial, Abby Runion and Hackleman Hacall scored twice.