Baseball recap: Timberview, Aledo walk off in extra innings, Birdville out-duels Centennial

Mansfield Timberview 8, Granbury 7 (8)

Kelvin Oates doubled to deep right field to drive in Khalil Walker in the bottom of the 8th inning to give Mansfield TImberview an 8-7 win over Granbury in Game 1 of their three-game series on Thursday night at Timberview High School.

Walker also pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win for Timberview (20-10-1).

Granbury (23-9) built a 7-3 lead behind a two-run triple by Matthew Walters in the second inning and a double by Ryan Felton that drove in two more in the third.

Cedric Mitchell hit a one-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the first for the Wolves.

Timberview rallied with one in the fifth and three in the sixth. A bases-loaded ground ball to first by Austin Brown was booted allowing two runs to score. Walker followed and tied the game at seven with a sacrifice fly to right.

Game 2 of the series will be at 7 p.m. on Friday at Granbury. If a third game is needed it will be played on Saturday at a time and site to be determined.

Birdville 2, Burleson Centennial 1

Paris Junior College signee Mason Hardwick was dealing Thursday night allowing one hit with 11 strikeouts as the Hawks edged out the Spartans in Game 1 of their Class 5A area round series at Euless Trinity.

Game 2 is set for 7:30 pm Friday at Everman.

Hardwick got a pair of strikeouts in the first two innings and was up to five through three. He was pitching a no-hitter until the Spartans finally got their lone single in the fourth. Hardwick went toe-to-toe with Centennial pitcher Preston Tabor (Dallas Baptist). But the Hawks took the early 1-0 lead in the second when Hogan Shelby’s RBI single to center drove in Alex Showalter, who got on by a fielder’s choice.

Centennial put two runners on in the fourth, but Hardwick worked out of the jam and picked up strikeout No 7. A half inning later and the Hawks put two on only to see Tabor end it with back-to-back strikeouts.

The Spartans tied it in the fifth when a Birdville throw to first was off resulting in a two-base error. But the tie didn’t last long when the Hawks led in the bottom of the inning on an RBI sac-fly to center from Jarrett Shannon.

With the game-tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on first in the seventh, Birdville reliever Isaac Phelan ended the game with a strikeout swinging for the save.

Tabor struck out 10 batters in six innings for Centennial.

Aledo 2, Burleson 1 (12)