Last week, the Pearland Oilers and the Dawson Eagles faced off in their district two-game series, with both games going into enough extra frames to constitute another half-game. On Friday night, Dawson junior pitcher Bennett Schnee (pictured wearing blue) went six innings with four strikeouts. Schnee gave up five hits but only one run in the first inning. The Eagles tied the game at one run each in the sixth inning and stayed there until the top of the ninth inning. Dawson was able to string together some hits and take advantage of Pearland’s errors to put up four more runs and take the series opener 5-1.
Game two was just 18 hours later on Saturday afternoon, and it was a masterclass in great pitching and defense by both teams as Dawson senior Garrett Romero pitched the entire nine innings and gave up just three hits, and the Pearland junior Grant Shepherd who went 6.1 innings and surrendered three hits. Oiler junior reliever Jaden Ornelas finished off the final 2.2 innings with no hits and three strikeouts.
The lone run in game two came in the top of the ninth inning as Oiler senior Cade Adams hit a shallow sacrifice fly that allowed the runner on third base, senior Walker Hurst, to dash home. Hurst was able to roll his body to his right and lift his left arm up as he slid into home to avoid being tagged out by Eagles junior catcher Aiden Villanueva. The play was so close that the Dawson home crowd initially erupted into cheers but quickly turned to jeers as the umpire called Hurst safe at the plate. Dawson head coach Chris Turner heavily protested the call, but it stood. The Oilers took care of the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and secured the 1-0 win to split the season series.
The loss is Dawson’s first in district play, and at 7-1, has them atop the district standings at about the halfway mark and in an excellent position to secure the district championship. The Oilers previously split with Alvin and are currently 6-2, tied with the Yellowjackets for 2nd place in district play. Pearland still has a chance to secure at least a share of the district tile but will need to win out and get help from Alvin by sweeping Dawson when they face off next month.
