Chris Perez struck out 12 batters last Friday, March 18, on the road against Lake Belton.
The Ducks blanked the Broncos 4-0 to slide into a tie for second place in District 19-4A. The Ducks have not dropped a game since March 8, going 3-0-1 since then for a 9-6-1 overall record.
The Ducks did not get on the board until the third inning. Jake Jansky drew a walk to reach first base. Dominick Hartman brought out the big bat with a triple that scored Jansky to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back outs would strand Hartman at third.
The Ducks added two additional runs in the sixth inning. With one out and Conner Barcuch on first base, pinch running for Jonah Adame, Cohen Tyree stepped up and doubled on a line drive to center field. Barcuch scored on the hit to double the Ducks lead at 2-0. After a second out, Jackson Schroeder singled to right field and drove in Tyree to give Taylor a 3-0 cushion.
In the Taylor half of the seventh inning, Nick Treuter would get on base after being hit by a pitch. Jackson Meller would come in to run for Treuter. Hartman then delivered his second triple that drove in Meller for a 4-0 Taylor advantage.
Hartman finished the night 2-for-3 with a pair of triples and two RBIs. Perez pitched six innings, surrendered three hits and walked four along with the 12 strikeouts. Matthew Aplin pitched the final inning and threw a total of nine pitches, seven of which were strikes.
The Ducks were back at the pond this past Tuesday, March 22, to take on district leader Burnet for a shot at the district lead on the line.
