Mineral Wells Area News

By DAVID MAY

Special to Mineral Wells Area News

Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Glen Rose was, in the words of the immortal Yogi Berra, like “déjà vu all over again.”

Senior lefty Ben Bullock and Braeden Wells combined to one-hit the Tigers at home Tuesday, notching the team’s second District 6-4A win. The other district win? A 1-0 defeat of Glen Rose a month ago.

The Rams got all the scoring they would need in the third inning thanks to a two-out RBI single off the bat of William Holifield, scoring Adrian Holifield who reached base on an outfield error. He stole second and reached third on a ground out before crossing the dish.

Bullock and Wells were the heroes of the day. Bullock started on the bump, twirling a strong 5.2 innings in which he struck out five Tigers while allowing one hit and four walks. Wells closed out the win with 1.1 innings of work, with three of his four outs coming on strikeouts.

Both Rams hurlers filled up the zone with strikes. Of Bullock’s 81 pitches, 50 were strikes, while 20 of Wells’ offers went for strikes. Bullock faced just 21 Tigers hitters to record his 17 outs before giving way to Wells.

Unfortunately, Glen Rose returned the favor on Friday night. The Tigers blanked the visiting Rams, 10-0. Wells started for the Rams, but didn’t fare nearly as well as he did three days earlier. 

Wells threw 4.1 innings, allowing six runs – three earned as the Rams fielders committed four errors – on eight hits to go with five strikeouts and five free passes.

Tigers pitcher Cullen Kickhoefer stymied the Rams lineup, going the full six innings with nine strikeouts while giving up three hits and two walks.

The Rams (5-13-1, 2-6) sit in fourth place in the district standings with four games left in the regular season. They will play Graham twice home-and-home before facing Stephenville two times, again home-and-home. Both teams sit just ahead of the Rams in the standings. The Rams can solidify their post-season hopes with at least a split of those two series.