Lubbock-Cooper baseball muddies District 4-5A title picture with win over Abilene Wylie

WOODROW — A logjam atop the District 4-5A baseball standings just got a lot more complicated.

Entering the day in fourth place, Lubbock-Cooper knew it needed a win against Abilene Wylie on Friday afternoon. Both teams suffered tough losses Thursday, and with little separation between first and fifth place, any win — no matter how it comes — is a good win.

That's what the Pirates got at First United Park.

Small ball and another quality pitching performance were good enough for a 5-0 win over the Bulldogs, muddying the standings even further.

"This one was huge," Lubbock-Cooper catcher Connor Sanderson said. "... This one definitely feels good, especially since they beat us last time at their place. We've always been looking forward to this game and getting back at them."

Cooper (15-14 overall, 8-4 district) loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first but only managed to get one run across on an RBI fielder’s choice from Cutter Douglas. The 1-0 lead would hold until the fourth when, again, the Pirates had runners at each base without an out being recorded.

This time, the Pirates managed to make Wylie (13-9-1, 8-5) pay. A balk from pitcher Carter Beard brought in one run, and Tyler Spruiell produced a run-scoring groundout. Following a strikeout, a third run came across off a Bulldog defensive error.

No ball left the infield, but it was good enough for a three-run inning. That was plenty of insurance for pitcher Timothy Haynes, who was on the mark all game long.

"We've been talking about that," Wylie coach Grant Martin said. "If we're not gonna hit the ball then we've got to play a clean game and we didn't do that today. I think it all goes back to the plate. I thought we hit some balls good today, but it's just been one of those deals where they've. ... been right at them, and Timothy did a great job on the mound. Hats off to those guys."

Haynes went the distance on the mound, striking out six batters and scattering three hits and one walk in seven innings of work. Head coach Brad Wuensche said pitching has been the biggest key to Cooper's 5-1 record in the second round of district play after going 3-3 in the first portion.

"I think it's important," Sanderson said, "because games that we've struggled in, our pitching started off slow. We've been walking a lot of guys, which turns into runs, so the fact that our pitchers can dominate early and get the first strike on batters early in the counts helps a lot."

Through play on Friday, Lubbock-Cooper and Coronado — which beat Wylie on Thursday and Abilene Cooper on Friday — are tied with Abilene High, which beat the Pirates on Thursday, for first place in the standings. Wylie is now in the fourth slot, half a game up on Monterey.

There's much to be sorted out in the final third of 4-5A play, and it's anybody's ball game now.

"There's no separation," Wuensche said, "so every single game is important. There's no throw-away games. You got to pile on the W's whenever you can. Anybody can beat anybody in this league."

District 4-5A baseball

Lubbock-Cooper 5, Abilene Wylie 0

Abilene Wylie 000 000 0 — 0 3 2

Lubbock-Cooper 100 301 x — 5 8 1

Carter Beard, Lane Justice (4) and Hays Sipe (6). Timothy Haynes. W — Haynes. L — Beard. 2B — Lubbock-Cooper, Haynes, Cutter Douglas.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock-Cooper muddies District 4-5A title picture with win over Abilene Wylie