HALLSVILLE — Despite out-hitting Bullard 7-5, the Spring Hill baseball team failed to get its sputtering offense on track, resulting in a 6-1 loss Saturday afternoon in a Class 3A Region II area clash at The Ballpark at Hallsville.
The win gives District 14-3A champion Bullard (19-7) a sweep in the best-of-3 series, setting up a battle with the Pleasant Grove Hawks next week in the regional quarterfinals. Spring Hill finishes its season with a 24-6 mark.
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Jacob Croft Botter/News-Journal Photo | Spring Hill's Garrett Methvin delivers a pitch during Spring Hill's area playoff baseball game against Bullard on Saturday at The Ballpark in Hallsville.
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"We accomplished some great things this season," said Spring Hill head coach Griff Mauldin. "The group of seniors that have been with us set the bar high. We have a lot of work to do to get back to that level next year."
Panther ace Garrett Methvin (9-3) started on the mound and absorbed the loss. He worked 41/3 innings, allowing six earned runs, all of which came on two home runs.
After retiring the first batter of the game, Methvin ran into control problems, walking three straight hitters to load the bases. Austin Camp then stepped to the plate and hit a ball off the scoreboard for a grand slam. Camp took advantage of a strong wind blowing out to left field, driving a 1-0 fastball approximately 380 feet.
Spring Hill picked up three of its seven hits in the second, when Nico Moran led off with a base hit up the middle. Brandon Arden ripped an RBI double to right-center, but was cut down at third attempting to stretch it into a triple.
Jake Fudge followed with a two-out single, but was one of five runners stranded on the day for the Panthers. Spring Hill had the leadoff runner aboard in four of seven innings.
Methvin settled down to pitch three shutout innings and keep his team in the game. After collecting his fourth strikeout to start the fifth, Methvin gave up a triple to Charlie Moore, which was followed by a two-run shot delivered by Travis Eudey.
"It boils down to a couple of things," Mauldin said of the loss. "You have to give them credit, because they came up with the big hits today. On our end, you have to score more than one run to win a ballgame.''
The Spring Hill defense made several standout plays in the field, including a sliding catch by senior center fielder Scott Powell, who returned from capturing bronze medal in the boys 400 meters at the state track meet Friday.
Bullard will meet Pleasant Grove, who beat Kemp in two games of their best-of-3 series, 2-0 and 10-2.
