Livingston baseball took the front end of an important two-game series with Tarkington, defeating the Longhorns 6-2 Tuesday in Polk County.
The win means the Lions can clinch a playoff berth with a win Friday. A loss would pit the two teams in a play-in game, with the winner claiming the district’s final spot.
“We needed that one,” Livingston coach David Miller said. “It is win or go home right now. We win Friday, we are in. If we lose, we would have a play-in on Saturday with them. They (the Lions) played their butts off. We have been on them about doing the little things right.”
A Jerren James triple was followed by Rudy Marquez being hit by a pitch. Marquez then got into a rundown long enough for James to score, however the ball was dropped and all were safe. The Lions led 1-0 after three innings.
Tarkington had an answer in their next at-bat. Shuan McKee was hit by a pitch, Cooper Labuff walked, and a sacrifice put two in scoring position. A bouncer to shortstop was thrown low to first and not handled, allowing two to score. Tarkington led, 2-1.
In the bottom half of the inning, Livingston found some offense. Jacob Wood walked, Jacob Collier singled and Roper Wood drove in a run with a base hit. Jake Young followed that with an RBI-double and T.J. Garner collected an infield hit that produced a run. Garner then stole second base and a run scored on the overthrow. James hit a pop fly to right field that was deep enough to score a fifth run, putting Livingston up, 6-2.
Luke Jones was excellent on the mound. Other than the error at first base that allowed two to score, the Longhorns were unable to generate an offense.
“Luke usually has one inning that gets him in a bind,” Miller said. “If he can wiggle through that one, he usually settles down. He pitched to contact and we played defense. We made one mistake really, but it didn't kill us. There were no earned runs. It was a quality start and a complete game.”
The defense of his right fielder, T.J. Garner, saved a few runs. In addition to the routine plays in right, Garner had two assists, throwing out runners at home plate.
“T.J. came up and put the throw on the money,” the coach said. “He sailed quite a few throws during pregame, but, I can't ask for a better throw.”
The Lions need just one more win to guarantee another series, whether on Friday or Saturday.
“We have guys that are wanting to be leaders and trying to be leaders. I told them that if they wanted to be leaders, they have to do things right, day in and day out. We've had guys that have taken that to heart and their work ethic at practice has changed. Their attitude in the games has changed. You can't just be a leader and be all talk. We have had some guys do it. Carlos Valerio is real quiet about what he does, but he shows up in the games and works his tail off. Jerren James has stepped up big time. Rudy (Marquez), now that he is back, has stepped up. Jacob Collier has turned into a leader. I have told them to be the same guy every day and be consistent every day. When they are at a job or when they are older, they have to be the same guy. When they are a husband or a father, they have to be the same guy every day.”
