SHERMAN, Texas (June 6, 2024) — The Sherman Shadowcats’ rally fell short as they suffered a 9-7 defeat to the Abilene Flying Bison in the opening game of their four-game series at Veterans Field. With this loss, the Shadowcats extend their losing streak to five games and fall to 3-7 in the Mid-America League standings, now nine games behind first-place Abilene.
The game, which began on schedule at 7:05 p.m. with no weather delays, saw Sherman struggle early but mount a late-inning comeback that ultimately came up short. The Flying Bison took an early lead in the fourth inning and added to it with a five-run fifth inning, capitalizing on Sherman’s pitching struggles.
Sherman’s Starting Pitcher Tanner Carter (Tarleton State University) had a solid start but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. Carter’s line for the night was:
IP: 4.0, H: 2, R: 4, ER: 4, BB: 5, SO: 6
In the top of the fourth, Carter allowed the first run when Shortstop Jack Cue (Cisco College) grounded out, scoring Designated Hitter Drew Detlefsen (Dodge City Community College). The real trouble began in the fifth inning when Abilene had an offensive outburst against Carter and relievers Tate Thompson (Cisco College Abilene Campus) and Clayton Merritt (Texas A&M University-Texarkana).
The Flying Bison extended their lead in the fifth with the following events:
Treyton Smith (Richland College) walked with the bases loaded, scoring Left Fielder Will Magids (Texas Tech). Drew Detlefsen then hit a grand slam, driving in four runs, including himself. Jake Knox (Cisco College) singled to drive in two more runs. Treyton Smith was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, adding another run to make it 9-0. Below are the stats of both pitchers who were mostly involved in the inning:
Thompson’s stats:
IP: 0.2, H: 1, R: 2, ER: 2, BB: 1, SO: 0, HR: 1 (Grand Slam)
Merritt’s stats:
IP: 0.1, H: 2, R: 3, ER: 3, BB: 2, SO: 0
After the fifth inning finally ended, Pitcher Johnathon “JB” Brzezicki (Nichols College) took over in the sixth and shut down the Abilene offense, facing nine batters and retiring them all in order. Brzezicki’s final stats were:
IP: 3.0, H: 0, R: 0, ER: 0, BB: 0, SO: 4
Brzezicki’s strong performance kept the Shadowcats in the game, preventing the ten-run mercy rule from being invoked after the seventh inning.
Sherman began their rally in the bottom of the fifth, with the help of JB’s pitching, when Left Fielder Ryan Sessions (Redlands Community College) singled to right, driving in Third Baseman Anderson Acinger (LSU Shreveport).
The offense continued in the bottom of the seventh, when Ryan Sessions doubled to left field, scoring Second Baseman Gavin Speirs (Howard College). Infielder Korson Hastings (Trinity University) walked with the bases loaded, scoring Sessions. First Baseman Easton Ford (Redlands Community College) reached on a fielder’s choice, driving in Center Fielder Zach Henry (University of Texas at Arlington) and Designated Hitter Dillon Flores (St. Edwards University).
Sherman added two more runs in the eighth on a wild pitch when Zach Henry was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Pitcher Tyson Woodland (Centenary College of Louisiana) and allowing Catcher Cole Carnes (Fort Scott Community College) and Sessions to score on a wild pitch. Making the score going into the ninth inning 9-7 Abilene.
With the game on the line, Pitcher Carson Baugh (Texas Tech University) pitched a flawless ninth, keeping the Cats in the ballgame. Baugh’s clutch pitching performance is below:
IP: 1.0, H: 0, R: 0, ER: 0, BB: 0, SO: 3
Despite the late-game rally and pitching efforts, the Shadowcats couldn’t complete the comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Sherman’s last-chance effort in the bottom of the ninth ended with a pop-up by Sessions to the shortstop, sealing the 9-7 loss.
Box Score Highlights:
Sherman Shadowcats:
Runs: 7, Hits: 10, Errors: 0, Left on Base: 10
Abilene Flying Bison:
Runs: 9, Hits: 5, Errors: 0, Left on Base: 6
Key Performances:
Sherman Shadowcats:
Ryan Sessions: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI
Anderson Acinger: 2-for-5, 1 R
Zach Henry: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
Abilene Flying Bison:
Drew Detlefsen: 2-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR
Jake Knox: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI
Jacob Mead: IP: 1.0, H: 0, R: 0, ER: 0, BB: 1, SO: 1 (9th Inning)
Next Up:
The Shadowcats will face the Flying Bison again on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. in the second game of the series at Veterans Field. Sherman aims to snap their losing streak and build momentum moving forward after the late rally in tonight’s loss.
For live updates, follow us on Twitter @Sherman_M_A.
