BASEBALL

Plainview keeps hot streak going with blowout of Hereford

Mike Graham A-J Media
Plainview's Noah Nelson (7) pitches the ball during the game against Hereford in Plainview, Texas, on Friday. Nelson threw four scoreless innings. [Brad Tollefson/A-J Media]

PLAINVIEW -- Bulldogs coach Brandon Gilliand got to do something Friday most other skips can only dream about.

He emptied his bench Friday in a 17-4 win against Hereford, which was called on the run rule after five innings. And his team cruised in for a 4-0 start in District 3-5A competition after a difficult non-district portion of the schedule.

The best league teams are still out there for Plainview to face in a district setting where the teams conduct a home-and-home series each week, but it has established itself as another early contender in a grouping where one team advanced all the way out to the regional championship series.

“This is good,” Gilliand said. “Any time you can get a win at this level, it’s good. Any time we can take advantage of some miscues by our opponents, that’s what we’re after. Being aggressive and putting pressure on people, I think we did that today.”

Fans did have to see one upsetting incident in spite of the home team’s rout.

Hereford catcher Brian Box had a ball in the dirt bounce back and hit him in a neck artery. He went to go have a discussion with coach Brandon Collins and fainted.

Collins caught Box by the gear on his way down and kept the catcher from hitting his head.

Box came to a few seconds later, an ambulance was called and he was eventually deemed healthy enough to travel home with the Whitefaces (7-13, 0-4) after evaluation in the dugout.

Aside from that scare, it was an ideal day for the Bulldogs (6-16, 4-0).

A nine-run first inning took the suspense out of whether the squad could win a fourth straight game after a 2-16 run through non-district play.

Designated hitter Andrew Villa took a pitch to the side after the first three batters reached base and Carson Hauk trotted in as the eventual winning run.

The Bulldogs sent 12 batters to the plate in the first and batted around the order in the second, third and fourth. Starting pitcher Noah Nelson needed bullpen sessions to keep fresh during the offensive portion of innings.

Villa doubled for an RBI in the second inning, resulting in a 10-0 lead.

“It’s definitely fun to be winning some games and have a real good streak going,” Villa said. “It keeps our mood up. We’ve really learned to stay in the game, stay focused, have a short-term memory and just forget about the mistakes we made. Just play as hard as we can.”

The Whitefaces had no defensive answers -- they committed six errors -- but they did eat away at Nelson’s abridged perfect game and no-hit bids.

A pop fly picked up by a swirling wind resulted in a second-inning error ahead of hits in the third and fourth frames.

Nelson recorded four scoreless innings, however, and turned the game over to Albert McIntee for the hold.

McIntee gave up four runs, including a three-run homer to losing pitcher Carson Altman with two outs in the inning.

It still wasn’t enough to keep the game going.

“Our expectations are pretty high,” Nelson said. “We’ve got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing. Just keep working hard in practice every single day and giving it everything we’ve got.”

Player of the Game

Noah Nelson, Jr., P, Plainview

While Hereford lapsed in every phase, the junior Bulldogs pitcher kept Plainview out in front with quick innings. He never encountered more than four Whitefaces at a time.

Notable

All of Plainview’s starting batters reached base at least once and six reached at least twice.

What’s next

The Whitefaces have a two-game series with Amarillo High. It begins Tuesday at Hereford.

Plainview will host Dumas on Tuesday for the first game of a two-game district series.

PLAINVIEW 17, HEREFORD 4

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Hereford: Carson Altman, Michael Gracia (1), Mitchell Carnahan (2), Ray Ramirez (3) and Carnahan, Brian Box (1), Bryce Simnacher (2); Plainview: Noah Nelson, Albert McIntee (5) and Riley Bennett. W--Nelson, L--Altman. 2B--Plainview, Andrew Villa. HR--Hereford, Altman. Records: Hereford 7-13, 0-4 in District 3-5A; Plainview 6-16, 4-0 in district.