Bridge City 8, BCA 3

Last night we drove East to Bridge City to take on the Cardinals, a regional semifinal team in 3A last year who returned the nucleus of that squad and are one of the favorites to contend for the 2010 state title. The Cardinals threw three tough pitchers on the evening and the Bulldog bats were held silent for most of the evening until a late rally fell short in the 7th, leaving the final tally at 8-3 in favor of the hosts. Bridge City combined an uber-aggressive approach at the plate with equally aggressive base running to score their runs and the Cardinal pitching and defense stifled our young lineup through six innings.

Things turned around in the top of the 7th, as Bridge City coach Chad Landry, a former collegiate teammate of BCA head coach Kade Johnson, brought in his ace Matt Hicks to close the game. Hicks is a true ace, sporting a 91+ mph fastball and a wicked exploding slider, and was named to the All-State team last season as a junior with a 1.60 ERA, 13 wins, and 136 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched. Not intimidated, our young sluggers furiously rallied for three base hits and a walk that combined with the first, and only, Cardinal error for a three-run rally. The rally was started by the bottom of the lineup, with freshman shortstop Tyler Beasley getting things started with a single through the right side of the infield. Beasley, Clay Wiseman (single), and Robert Russell (walk) all scored in the inning before Hicks slammed the door shut to end the comeback.

Clay Wiseman took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs, pitching four innings, and Robert Russell tossed the final two frames to close the game out. Ryan Bertram, Tyler Wilson, and Cameron Johnson also recorded hits in the game, with Bertram tallying the only BCA stolen base of the game.

Next up is a matchup with long-time rival Bay Area Christian here in Baytown at 4:00 PM Friday, so come on out and enjoy some great baseball!