Livingston baseball took care of business in two games over Northside High that stretched into Saturday due to weather. The Lions won 15-3 and 14-0 run-rules that allowed their offense to shine.
In the second game, started on Friday, Livingston jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one inning. Jerren James walked, Rudy Marquez delivered an RBI-single, and Jacob Wood provided a base hit. A rundown between first and second allowed the runner from third to score, and an error kept everyone safe. Karter Nelson walked, Jacob Collier knocked in a run with a double, and a wild pitch scored a fourth. Roper Wood brought a fifth run across with another base hit.
“That is their first two losses on the year,” Livingston coach David Miller said of previously unbeaten Northside. “They were good kids and they fought hard, but we just had their number. I told our guys not to take them lightly. I challenged them all week and tried to get them prepared like we were going to go play The Woodlands.
“That is the same thing that I will do this week. I want them to have confidence, but I don't want them to have a false confidence. We did some good things with the bats Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They had pitching that was a little slower and it forced us to stay back. We had a good approach, where we were trying to go gap to gap, instead of trying to pull everything. It helped us string together consecutive hits, which is what we needed. That has been our Achilles heel this season, where we will get pressure on teams and not finish.”
Miller said much of his team was able to attend a 15-inning marathon Lumberton played versus Palestine in Livingston Saturday to advance. Lumberton took a 4-3 game over the Wildcats for a spot in the area around.
“I think they are going to throw strikes and they have some guys that are going to be able to pitch and spin it,” Miller said of the Raiders. “They are going to be able to swing a little bit, but from what I saw, they don't have anybody overpowering. They threw three different arms against Palestine, so we kind of got an idea of how they are going to try to pitch us. I think it is going to be a good matchup.”
Livingston has pitched and played defense effectively throughout 2025, and will rely on that combination going forward.
“Karter and (Landon) Hodges and (Luke) Jones and (Cole) Barrow have thrown well,” the coach said of his staff. “They throw strikes and they're not trying to overthrow and are staying within themselves. They're not trying to get too cute out there and overthink it. When they do that, they have been effective. Our defense has been pretty solid all year. It is going to be a good series. As long as we show up and fight and are ready to compete, that is all I can ask them to do.”
The best-of-three area series is set for Thursday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 5 p.m., with a final game 30 minutes after on Friday, if needed. All games will be in Dallardsville, at Big Sandy High School.
