• Square-facebook
  • X-twitter
  • Instagram
Time to read
less than
1 minute
Read so far

Steers walk-off in opener, but drop series to end year

Wed, 05/09/2018 - 10:40 am
sports@grahamleader.com
The Graham Steers baseball team put a major league scare into the two-time defending Class 4A state champions. The squad had to replace more than half of its starting lineup due to graduation last season yet nearly delivered one of the biggest shockers in Texas High School baseball by knocking out the champions in the opening round of the playoffs. However, second-ranked Abilene Wylie pounded out 24 hits over the final two games to come away with a 2-1 series win. The team got workmanlike performances from senior first baseman John Collins and junior pitcher Owen Loesch in the series to give the fourth-place team out of District 6-4A a fighting chance. Collins, Tucker Horn, Donovan Barrett, Adam Groves, Cameron Parker and Joe Hernandez all played in their final baseball game over the weekend. The Steers conclude the season with a 18-15-1 district. Graham 1, Abilene Wylie 0 You would be hard-pressed to find a better game in the entire state on Thursday night than the bi-district series opener. Hits were few and far between for both squads. Graham starting pitcher Owen Loesch gave everything he had in six innings of work. The junior allowed just one hit and three walks to go with three strikeouts. However, Wylie right-handed starter Blake Smith matched Loesch pitch-for-pitch by allowing just three walks and three hits over his six innings. Smith began to labor in the seventh and the Steers took advantage. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.