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August 3, 2022- The Generals faced off against the Brazos Valley Bombers on the road in game two of a three game semifinal playoff series. The Generals looked to close out this series on the road and advance to the TCL championship game on Saturday.
The Generals went down in order to start the game in the top of the first. The Bombers struck first in the bottom of the inning as they were able to bring a run across on a sac fly. The bats stayed quiet for the Generals in the second inning as they went down in order again. The Bombers added on to their lead in the bottom of the second, bringing across another run to make the score 2-0 heading into the third.
The first hit of the game for the Generals came in the top of the third, however they were unable to capitalize, and the score remained 2-0. Starting pitcher Parker Bigham did a great job in the bottom of the third silencing the Bombers bats and keeping them off the board.
The Generals offense started clicking in the top of the fourth as Blake Bean got the Generals on the board with an RBI double. The pitching and defense continued to do well, as the Bombers were unable to get anything going in the bottom of the fourth.
The fifth inning held more offense for the Generals as a single from Jackson Hardy and walks from DJ Butler and Isiah Walker loaded the bases with no outs. Ground balls from Adam Becker and Chase Sanguinetti brought home two runs, and a wild pitch brought home Walker to give the Generals a 4-2 lead heading into the sixth inning.
The Generals looked to add to their lead in the top of the sixth as they loaded the bases with only one out. However, the Generals were unable to bring any runs home, keeping the game at 4-2 heading into the bottom of the inning. Bigham ended his excellent start after getting two outs in the sixth inning. He surrendered only two runs and two hits over the 5.2 innings he pitched. Jared Barta came in and collected the final out of the inning, preserving the Generals 2 run lead as they headed into the seventh.
Both teams were quiet offensively in the seventh as Barta continued to do great out of the bullpen, only allowing one hit in the bottom of the seventh. The Generals bats came back to life in the top of the eighth, as catcher Adrian Minjares brought across a huge insurance run with an RBI single. Will Duncan was called out of the bullpen to pitch the eighth inning. He shut the Bombers down, only allowing a single base runner and keeping the Generals three run lead intact heading into the final inning of the game.
The Generals went down in order in the top of the ninth, however they were just three outs away from advancing to the TCL championship game. It was Austin Dean who was responsible to get those three outs, as he was called out of the bullpen to close out the game. He dominated the bombers, striking out two batters and securing the series clinching 5-2 victory for the Generals!
This win clinched a championship berth for the Generals, as they will host the Acadiana Cane Cutters on Saturday at Riverside Park for a winner-take-all championship game! This is a FREE TICKET NIGHT presented by Interstate Batteries.
