By Caleb Adams

Leader Correspondent

 

BEAUMONT — Bridge City eliminated the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks as the Cardinals rolled to a 5-0 Game Two victory at in the Class 4A Region III Area Round of the playoffs at Lamar University’s Vincent-Beck Stadium Friday night after snagging a 3-2 Game One win on Thursday.

The District 22-4A champion Cardinals (25-7-1) had three players with multi-hit nights in Caleb Dubois, Cace Skinner and Cameron Yadon, who were each very reliable from the plate accounting for all four runs in some fashion to help send the Hawks (16-9), 23-4A runnerups, home. The Cardinals finished with 10 hits while the Hawks had four.

The Cardinals will move on to the Region III quarterfinals next week to face either Jasper or Tarkington.

Jacob Goodman had a solid start for the Cardinals in the outing. Goodman went four innings with two strikeouts, four walks, allowing four hits and no earned runs. He was able to get out of a lot of very sticky situation throughout the night that helped the Cards a ton later.

Logan Hamm, for the Cardinals, came in relief in the fifth inning and shut the door quick. After adopting two runners on, Hamm struck out Jayce Ruper, who got the start on the hill for the Hawks, and went to the seventh inning for H-J. Rupert had an up and down night early, but settled in later into the game. He had five walks, three strikeouts, allowed seven hits and three runs.

Hamm reached on a leadoff walk and stole second to setup the first run of the game. Caleb Dubois, with a hard line drive, knocked in Hamm from second putting the Cardinals up one run early. The Cardinals would later load the bases in the same inning, but got nothing from as they led 1-0 over the Hawks after half an inning.

Bridge City scored again the next inning thanks to a Hamm RBI groundout. Cameron Yadon reached on a single, stole second base and a wild pitch moved him to third. Hamm brought him home with a grounder to first to enable the Cardinals to take a 2-0 cushion after one and a half innings.

The Cardinals continued their one run an inning rule and scored one in the fourth, after having the bases loaded with one out. Dubois hit a sac fly to drive in Skinner from third, Yadon got thrown out at home to end the play and the inning but the Cardinals were breezing up 3-0 after three and a half innings.

Hardin-Jefferson got into a couple of bases loaded situations in the early innings, but came up short each time. In the fourth inning, on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, the runner on third was caught trying to still home with one out. The strange coaching decision to bunt with bases loaded backfired and the Hawks draw deeper and deeper into a hole.

In the last few innings, the Hawks would try to rally a few runs together, but the same thing kept happening each time. The Cardinal’s pitchers, Goodman and Hamm, would find a way to get out of the situations, be it strikeouts or groundouts.

In the top of the seventh, even with a three-run lead, the Cardinals continue to apply the pressure and made it hard for the Hawks to come within striking distance. Schuyler Thibodaux reached base on a long double to right, the next batter Dubois, traded spots with Thibodaux, to drive in the fourth run of the night, and Dubois second RBI of the game.

Still in the seventh the Cardinals’ Skinner walked with the bases loaded to score the fifth run in the game.