The Brownwood Lions’ postseason fate will be determined on the final day of the regular season after being denied a chance to clinch a playoff berth Tuesday night at Morris Southall Field due to an 11-1 loss to District 6-4A champion Stephenville.
The Lions visit Stephenville at 7 p.m. Friday to close out the regular season, and listed at the end of this article are all the potential playoff possibilities for Brownwood.
In Tuesday’s loss, the Lions were limited to five hits – two doubles by Gavin Brandstetter, a pinch-hit triple by Taylor Bessent, and singles from Logan Posey, Justin Valdez and Campbell Gilmore, who drove in Brownwood’s only run.
Stephenville scored twice in the first inning, added single runs in the second, third and seventh frames, and put the game out of reach with six runs in the sixth inning – including five with two outs.
Lion hurlers Kyle Ivy, David Turner and Case Markham combined to allow 11 runs – four earned – on seven hits with six strikeouts, nine walks, three hit batters, and a pair of catcher interference calls.
Brownwood pushed its run across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning to close the gap to 4-1 as Brandstetter led off with a double to left-center field, then Gilmore delivered an RBI single just over the head of the shortstop with two outs.
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BROWNWOOD PLAYOFF SCENARIOS HEADING INTO FRIDAY
- Stephenville (17-7-1, 9-2)
- Glen Rose (11-15, 5-6)
- Brownwood (8-16-1, 5-6)
- Lampasas (6-18, 5-7)
- Gatesville (9-16, 4-7)
If Brownwood defeats Stephenville Friday, the Lions are in the playoffs as the No. 2 seed if Glen Rose loses to Gatesville, and the No. 3 seed if Glen Rose beats Gatesville. Glen Rose owns the tiebreaker over Brownwood, having won two of three meetings.
If the Brownwood loses to Stephenville, the Lions are still in the playoffs if Glen Rose defeats Gatesville. The Lions would be the No. 4 seed in this scenario as they won just one of three district games against both Glen Rose and Lampasas.
If Brownwood loses to Stephenville and Gatesville defeats Glen Rose, there will be four-way tie between the Lions, Glen Rose, Gatesville and Lampasas for second place and a playoff will determine the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.
