HOLLAND – Jose Arzola’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth lifted the Holland Hornets (12-4 overall, 4-0 District 27-2A) to a 3-2 win over the Thrall Tigers (10-5, 2-2) Wednesday night.
“It was a well-played game by both teams,” said Thrall Coach Aaron Vanecek. “Both pitching staffs pitched solid games, and there were some good defensive plays by both teams.”
It was the Hornets who got on the board first in the bottom of the third. Desi Cantu led off the inning with a single to left, and he was followed by Brody Cole, who drew a walk. The bases went full of Hornets on Arzola’s single to left, but Holland could manage only one run as Cantu scored when Charlie Butler hit into a double play.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the sixth, when the Tigers took the lead with a pair of runs with two outs. Ty Bradford was hit by a pitch to start the Thrall rally, and a single by Maverick McAllister put runners at first and second. An error by the Hornets’ pitcher filled the bases for Carter Bradford, who crushed a single to push a pair of runs across and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
The Hornets tied the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Singles by Butler and Tyler Johnson started the inning for the Hornets. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, and Marc Grinnan’s infield single knotted the score at two.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth inning. Grinnan reached on a single to lead off the inning and Christian Michalek was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with one out. It appeared the Tigers would work out of the jam when McAllister struck out Holland’s Jacob Gray, but Arzola had other ideas. He took an twostrike pitch and lined a single into right field, scoring the winning run for the Hornets.
Arzola and Grinnan led the Hornets with two hits each, while McAllister and Carter Bradford recorded the only hits for the Tigers. Johnson got the win for Holland, pitching seven innings and allowed two runs on two hits, while striking out eight. McAllister took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits over three and two-thirds innings of work.
The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday when the host the Bremond Tigers (1-5, 1-3).
