The Livingston Lions took a 3-2 victory over the Tarkington Longhorns last week for fourth place in district. Both teams had identical 4-6 district records to start the series.
Livingston coach David Miller gave the ball to Luke Jones in Game 1 Tuesday night. Jones pitched a complete game (seven innings, 106 pitches, two hits, two runs, three walks, and six strikeouts) to get the win.
The two teams met again for Game 2 Friday in Tarkington. With a Livingston win, the Lions clinched a spot in the playoffs. A Tarkington win would have forced a winner-take-all Game 3 for the final playoff seed.
Livingston took an early lead in the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs, as Jerren James was hit by a pitch, scoring Jacob Collier.
They added another run in the third inning, as Karter Nelson hit a double to the fence in left field, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jacob Wood drew a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and third. Nelson stole home, as Tarkington attempted to throw out Wood on a delayed steal, putting the Lions up 2-0 after the third inning.
Tarkington started the bottom of the fourth with a hit by a pitch. The next Longhorn batter hit a grounder that the Lions turned into a 6-4-3 double play. Then, the Longhorns got on the scoreboard with a two-out rally. A double, followed by a single, put runners on first and third. Then, a passed ball allowed the runner on third to score, closing the gap to 2-1 Livingston. In the fifth inning, the Lions made two costly errors on pop flies that should’ve been caught, and the Longhorns tied the game, 2-2.
In the top of the seventh, Livingston had runners on first and third with one out, when Collier laid down an incredible sacrifice bunt to score Nelson from third. The Lions took the lead, 3-2.
Tarkington threatened in the bottom of the seventh, getting the tying run on third and the winning run on second with one out. The Longhorns couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity, striking out to end the game and end the season for the Longhorns.
Miller gave the Game 2 start to sophomore Landon Hodges. He didn’t disappoint, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits, three walks, and two runs while striking out eight. Karter Nelson got the last four outs, striking out two. Carlos Valerio went 2-for-4. Collier went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Nelson went 1-for-4 with two runs.
