Champion’s series with the Smithson Valley baseball team went just like the last four series for the Chargers have gone – a split.
After taking Tuesday’s contest with the Rangers, Smithson Valley visited Champion on Friday and was able to edge the Chargers, 3-2 to split the series.
Champion is 7-5 in district and 20-9-1 overall and has now split their last five series against Veterans Memorial, NB Canyon, Kerrville Tivy, Pieper and now Smithson Valley.
The only team the Chargers have been able to sweep this year is Wagner, but they’re looking for another sweep this week when they tangle with Seguin. The teams met Tuesday at Charger Field and will then play Friday in Seguin as Champion looks to lock down a playoff spot.
In last Friday’s game, the Rangers scored single runs in the second and third innings before Champion tied it up in the bottom half of the third.
The Chargers scored both its runs with two outs after Garland Whitehead walked to start the inning. Whitehead advanced to second on a Cam Logan sac bunt for the first out. An infield ground out advanced Whitehead to third for the second out.
From there, Jordan Ballin was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Quinn Grable came up and hit a grounder that the Rangers infield mishandled with a bad throw to first, allowing both Whitehead and Ballin to score to tie it up at 2-2.
The Chargers had a chance to take the lead in the fourth but a play at the plate went against Champion. Aidan Smith singled and his courtesy runner Wyatt Chandler tried to make it home from first on a Whitehead double but was called out after getting tagged by the Rangers catcher.
It stayed knotted at 2s until the seventh when SV pushed in the go-ahead run. A couple of walks put two runners on with two outs. A single to left brought in the runner from second and the Rangers pulled ahead 3-2.
Champion had a chance to tie or win it in the bottom of the seventh but went down in order with three strikeouts on just 10 pitches.
Ballin and Whitehead both doubled, while Smith singled to account for Champion’s three hits in the game. Ballin and Whitehead scored their two runs.
Jackson Melanson went five innings and left with the game tied so he got a no-decision. Melanson had 96 pitches, gave up 5 hits, no earned runs, walked 2 and fanned 8, while Smith threw in the last two innings and yielded a hit, a run, 3 walks and sat down 1.
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