KFDM COOP Posted June 3, 2006 Report Posted June 3, 2006 www.southeasttexaslive.com Bridge City advances to state HOUSTON - The first pitch from Cameron Yoe pitcher Brandon Kimbrel was just what Casey Jackson expected. He sent the pitch to the fence in left-center field on one hop to give the Bridge City baseball team just what it was looking for Friday. The bases were loaded when Jackson cleared them with a double that helped put the Cardinals in the UIL Class 3A state tournament for a second straight year. Jackson's double came with none out in the fifth inning of Bridge City's 6-3 victory over Yoe in the second game of a regional final series at Baseball USA's "The Yard." "He had been starting me with a fastball on the first pitch, so I just stayed on it," said the left-handed batting Jackson, a sophomore who grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the first. Bridge City (32-5) avoided playing a third game in the best-of-three series. The Cardinals, the state's top-ranked 3A team, won 9-5 in the first game Thursday. The two-round state tournament is Wednesday and Thursday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Jackson's double broke a 2-2 tie, and Bridge City scored another run in the inning to take a 6-2 lead. "They got the big hit when they needed it," Yoe coach Tommy Brashear said. "It didn't seem like we could get the hit when we needed it. That's part of baseball." Jackson's double was his 10th of the season, and he has a team-leading 44 runs batted in. "He's been a major RBI guy for us," Bridge City coach Billy Bryant said. "He's got a strong swing and when he makes good contact it can go far. And that pitcher is about as good a 3A pitcher as you'll see." Bridge City loaded the bases in the fifth with an infield single by Johnny Dishon and walks to Kevin Angelle and Cody Sparks. Jackson said the hit was extra-sweet after hitting into the earlier double play. "That kind of made me want to get another at-bat," he said. Bridge City pitcher Broc Haymon left with runners on first and third and two out in the sixth after giving up a pair of singles. Phillip Meeks got the next batter out on a fly out to center field. Yoe (24-11) loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh and scored on a wild pitch by Meeks to get within 6-3. A walk loaded the bases again, but Meeks got the last out with a 3-2 slider that Yoe's Jordan Beckhusen swung at for strike three. Meeks also got the final outs in the first game of the series when he entered with runners on first and third and retired three batters in a row. "I enjoy doing it," Meeks said of being put in game-closing situations. Haymon gave up two unearned runs in the first inning and steered clear of trouble after letting a pair of batters reach base in both of the next two. He didn't allow a hit in the third, fourth and fifth innings. This was Haymon's first start since he was on the wrong end of a run-rule playoff loss against Barbers Hill two weeks ago. "Coming in, that was my motivation after a game like that, and I was ready to show that I can still pitch," Haymon said. "Being a senior, I didn't want that to be the way I pitched in my last games." Haymon said he learned to throw a slider two weeks ago and mixed that pitch with fastballs and changeups against Yoe. "I wanted to keep the batters guessing," he said. Derrick Coleman hit Kimbrel's first pitch of the game to the base of the left field fence for a double and scored on a throwing error after a bunt by Troy Bolton. Dishon was hit by a pitch and Angelle beat out a roller to the shortstop. Then Sparks struck out and Jackson hit into the double play. An error by Dishon in center field helped Yoe score twice in the bottom of the inning. A.J. Hecker led off the second with an infield single, stole second and went to third and scored on a pair of wild pitches to pull Bridge City even at 2-2. But once Jackson got the big hit and Meeks sealed the deal, the Cardinals were ready to pack their bags for state.
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