Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Jack Field reached on an error, but was erased when Eli Hill followed with a fielder’s choice that put him aboard. Austin Wright followed with a single up to the middle to put two on with one out, and Ybarra – batting out of the No. 9 hole – drilled a two-RBI double down the right field line to push Hill and Wright across the plate for a Brownwood (7-4-1, 1-0) lead.
Brandstetter, who surrendered three runs – one earned – on four hits with three walks, recorded two of his strikeouts in the top of the seventh as Mineral Wells (1-6-1, 0-1) was retired in order to end the contest.
“The kids were ready, they want to play, they want to do well and we never have to question their desire to do well,” said Lions head coach Blake Sandford. “Throughout the course of the game there’s ups and downs and you can’t let it spin on you. We have to able to monitor and control what’s going on out there and for a lot of the game we did a good job. Putting it all together, we have to have more competitive at-bats, and we had some miscues with throwing and catching, but those things for the most part are easily correctable.”
Mineral Wells grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Josh Petrie singled and moved around the bases on a combination of passed balls and wild pitches to produce the first run.
The Lions answered in the bottom of the third to snatch a 2-1 advantage as Jordyn Nickerson led off with a single, then Brandstetter laid down a bunt and beat the throw to first base, but an errant throw to the bag and a wild heave from the outfield allowed both runners to cross the plate on the play.
Mineral Wells drew even in the fourth as Owen Gadd, who reached on a dropped third strike, later came home on a two-out RBI single by Clayton Ethridge, knotting the score at 2.
The Rams grabbed a 3-2 edge in the fifth as Adrian Holifield bunted his way aboard and Petrie followed with a single to left field. An errant pickoff throw allowed Holified to move to third base, then an off-target throw to the bag on Petrie’s attempt to steal second base permitted Holifiel to score the go-ahead run.
From that point on, however, Brandstetter silenced the Ram offense.
“It was an outstanding effort by Gavin with the high number of strikeouts,” Sandford said. “He kept us in the ball game throughout the course of the night It’s always good when we have him on the mound, and we have some really good player behind him. You’re never going to win the way you think you’re going to win, but it’s never as bad as it looks either. You just have to play out the ball game.
Next for the Lions, they will compete in weekend tournament action in Graham beginning at 3:45 p.m. Thursday against Childress, followed by a Friday 1:30 p.m. rematch with Childress and a 6 p.m. game against Pampa, and a Saturday 11:15 a.m. game against Wichita Falls.