Dillos Baseball season ends in hard-fought bi-district series

The San Saba High School varsity baseball team had its solid 2022 season come to a close this past weekend as the Dillos fell in their bi-district series to Sabinal High School in three games at neutral site Fredericksburg High School.

San Saba Dillos 2, Sabinal Yellowjackets 5 (Game 1)

On Friday evening, the Dillos got some very good pitching for most of the contest, but there was not enough support offensively as San Saba dropped Game 1 to Sabinal by a score of 5-2.

After a scoreless first two frames, the Dillos got on the board first in the top of the third inning when senior Reagan Mejia hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored junior Tyler Johnson to make it 1-0 in favor of San Saba.

Unfortunately for the Dillos, the Yellowjackets went on a scoring surge in the bottom of the fourth inning to score all five of their runs in the game to take a 5-1 lead. San Saba did get one more run in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI double from freshman Winton Lackey, but it was not enough as they dropped Game 1. In the loss, junior pitcher Lance Taylor had a great game as he struck out seven Yellowjacket batters in 5.0 innings pitched, only allowed three hits but did issue five walks. All five of the runs given up by Taylor were unearned, while sophomore Lane King pitched 1.0 inning of relief in the sixth inning and struck out the side on 11 pitches.

San Saba Dillos 10, Sabinal Yellowjackets 0 (Game 2)

During Game 2 late on Friday night, San Saba was able to even up the series 1-1 with a 10-0 blowout victory that had the Dillos scoring at least one run in each of the five innings played before the mercy rule was put into effect.

In the bottom of the first inning, San Saba got on the board when Mejia came home to score with two outs on a passed ball to make it 1-0 over Sabinal. The Dillos tacked on another run in the next to go up 2-0 when Johnson reached via error and junior Hayden Reeves scored.

San Saba opened the game up even more in the third inning by taking advantage of some shaky pitching and defense from Sabinal. Both Dillos senior Drake Bryant and King drew basesloaded walks while Reeves hit a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 advantage.

The Dillos did even more damage in the bottom of the fourth frame with the offense. Oliver came up to bat with one out and two runners on and ripped a two-run triple to left field. During the next at-bat, Oliver scored on a wild pitch from third base to make it 8-0.

San Saba put the mercy rule into effect in the bottom of the fifth inning as Johnson and Mejia had back-to-back RBI groundouts that ended the game at 10-0.

On the mound for the Dillos, Oliver was fantastic in 5.0 innings of work as he struck out seven Yellowjacket batters on 77 pitches thrown, allowed just two hits, issued only one walk, and did not allow any Sabinal runners to cross the plate.

San Saba Dillos 8, Sabinal Yellowjackets 10 (Game 3)

In the decisive Game 3, San Saba got off to an outstanding start in the top of the first inning. After Mejia reached base with a hit and senior Wesley Lackey drove him in to make it 1-0, Oliver came up and crushed a two-run home run to left field as San Saba was quickly ahead of Sabinal 3-0 in the blink of an eye.

The scoring continued in the top of the second inning for the Dillos as Wesley Lackey again came up clutch with a two-run double to left field that scored both Johnson and Mejia to extend the lead to 5-1.

Unfortunately for San Saba, just like in Game 3, a really bad fourth inning came back to haunt the Dillos. After Sabinal entered the fourth inning trailing 5-2, they surged with seven runs in the frame to take a 9-5 lead as the Yellowjackets had four hits, drew three walks, and reached on one error committed by the Dillos in the field.

San Saba was not going to go away quietly as the Dillos rallied with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice from Reeves and Taylor scoring on a passed ball to make it 9-7 in favor of Sabinal. After the Yellowjackets tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, Oliver got the deficit back to just two runs again with a sacrifice fly that scored Johnson as San Saba trailed 10-8.

However, that was all the Dillos’ offense could muster the rest of the way as they were unable to score in the top of the seventh frame. There were also some very questionable strike calls against San Saba in the later stretches of the game, including the final out that got Sabinal the 10-8 win and the series-clinching victory.

Under head coach Scott Hayes, the Dillos concluded their 2022 campaign with a 12-12d overall record and a 6-4 mark in District 29-2A play. Congratulations to seniors Drake Bryant, Franco Franco, Adan Huron, Wesley Lackey, Reagan Mejia, and Weston Oliver on a fantastic season and good luck in their future endeavors.