After blasting the ball en route to a sweep of their opponents at the state tournament in Center two weeks ago, the Texas Junior Boys All-Stars struggled getting their offense in gear Saturday at the 2011 Junior Boys World Series. The Center squad managed just one hit as they dropped a 5-0 setback to Alabama in the opening round of the double-elimination tourney.
Center will now have to fight its way back through the losers' bracket of the tourney beginning on Sunday at the national tournament in Seneca, South Carolina. The Texas All-Stars will battle South Carolina, a 9-6 loser to North Carolina in eight innings, on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Shaver Complex.
Other first-round contests included Mississippi rolling past Arkansas, 23-3, Georgia topping Virginia, 8-3, Louisiana outscoring Florida, 13-10, and Seneca, SC blitzing Tennessee, 22-2.
Winners' bracket games on Sunday include Mississippi facing Georgia at 4 p.m., North Carolina taking on Alabama at 7 p.m. and Louisiana tangling with Seneca at 7 p.m.
In addition to Center's game on Sunday, other losers' bracket elimination games include Arkansas facing Virginia at 1 p.m. and Florida taking on Tennessee at 4 p.m.
Despite Texas' inability to get on track offensively, the 'Rider pitchers kept the squad in the game and within striking distance for the high-powered offense. Blaine Tomlin started the game and pitched three-plus innings, throwing just 43 pitches, which will allow him to come back on Sunday against South Carolina.
Jacob Mitchell threw 41 pitches in relief in the fourth and fifth frames and will also be available on Sunday. Julian Jimenez pitched in the sixth inning. The effort was a moral victory because Alabama had not played more than five innings as they 'run-ruled' all their opponents in their state tournament. Texas' pitchers held the Alabama All-Stars to four hits.
But Texas' offense was stagnant for most of the game, possibly due to first-game jitters at the national tourney. The 'Riders managed just one hit in the contest, which was delayed for 45 minutes in the fifth frame because of lightning in the area.
Texas lead-off hitter Jared Wiggins posted a 1-for-3 outing at the dish, recording a single in the sixth inning, which appeared for a brief time that it might be the point where the Roughriders might come alive. But it wasn't meant to be on this day.
Brett Clark drew a pair of walks in the game, while finishing 0-for-1. Jesus Flores, Brent Barrarez, Tyler Muckelroy, Juan Morales and Keaton Bush also played for Texas.
Texas struggled finding its rhythm throughout. Clark walked in the first and fourth innings and Flores reached base on an error in the fourth as Alabama continued to come up with outstanding defensive plays to keep the players from Center off the base paths.
A pair of outstanding defensive plays by Alabama players kept Mitchell off the bases at the end of the fifth inning and Gutierrez in the sixth after the lightning delay.
But Texas appeared that it might make one last push at Alabama before it was over. After Alabama scored two runs in the first and two more in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, Wiggins connected with a single up the middle in the sixth with one out. Clark then reached base on an error, but Wiggins was thrown out on the play when he tried to make it to third.
Jimenez then reached first on an error to put two players on, before a fielder's choice to the third baseman resulted in a force- out of Clark to end the Texas threat.
Texas will now try to shake the jitters and come back strong on Sunday to hold off elimination from the tournament.