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BASTROP — The Bastrop Bears varsity baseball team was swept by the Weiss Wolves in the bi-district round of the playoffs, falling in two games Thursday, May 1, and Saturday, May 3.
Game one
The Bears dropped a pitcher’s duel 2-1 in extra innings, as the Wolves walked it off in the bottom of the eighth.
Bastrop appeared poised to strike early after loading the bases with no outs in the top of the first, following an error and back-to-back singles from Frank Andrada and Tristan St. Clair. However, a strikeout and an inning-ending double play spoiled the opportunity.
Weiss also threatened in the bottom half of the first, putting two runners on with one out, but two flyouts kept the game scoreless.
Both teams went down in order in the second inning, and the deadlock remained until the bottom of the sixth when Weiss capitalized on a walk, stolen base and RBI single to take a 1-0 lead.
Bastrop tied it in the top of the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Ben Vaquera, forcing extra innings. The Bears went down in order in the top of the eighth, setting up Weiss’s game-winning rally.
Vaquera started on the mound for Bastrop, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Francisco Arriaga took the loss, allowing both of Weiss’ runs.
Game two
Weiss completed the sweep with a 10-3 win in game two, capitalizing on 11 hits and several Bastrop miscues.
The Bears once again missed a scoring opportunity early, stranding runners on first and second in the opening inning after a pickoff at first base ended the threat.
The Wolves broke through in the third, scoring three runs on an RBI single and a triple. An error in the fourth allowed another run to cross, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Bastrop answered in the bottom of the fourth, plating three runs on a passed ball and a two-run single from Mason Smith to cut the deficit to 4-3. However, Weiss responded immediately with a four-run fifth inning fueled by two doubles, a walk and a passed ball.
The Wolves tacked on two more in the sixth on another error and an RBI single to put the game out of reach.
Cooper Voigt took the loss, pitching four innings and allowing six runs with three strikeouts. Andrada and Smith both came on in relief.
With the series loss, Bastrop’s season came to a close. The Bears finished 9-5 in district play and earned their first postseason appearance in three years.
