Farmers top Liberty-eylau in extra innings in Game 1
MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas — Liberty-eylau and Farmersville played backand-forth for most of the game on Thursday night, but the Farmers scored three runs in extra innings to win 7-4 in Game 1 of the best-of-three area round series.
Liberty-eylau (24-8-1 overall) will look to even the series on Friday. Game 2 will begin at 6 p.m. back in Mount Pleasant, Texas. If needed, a decisive Game 3 will be played at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the same site.
The Leopards struck first in the second inning with two runs.
Cam Gamble led the inning off reaching safely on an error and was later brought in on Collin Evans’ RBI single to left field. Three batters later, W.T. Jones hit a long pop out to center field, where Maddax Moore tagged up to give the Texarkana team a 2-0 lead.
A run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly in the third inning by Farmersville knotted the score at 2-all before Liberty-eylau managed to retake the lead in the bottom of the frame when Eli Jarvis grounded into a fielder’s choice to score courtesy runner Arian Taylor.
The Farmers tied the game again in the fifth inning and took advantage with another run in the sixth.
But, once again, that lead wasn’t safe as the Leopards made it 4-all in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Britain Pipes to score Jones, who singled to begin the inning.
However, that would be the game’s last score for Liberty-eylau as it couldn’t match the three runs the Farmers rallied for in the eighth inning.
The winner of this series will play either Community or North Lamar in the regional quarterfinals next week.