Picture from the Pump Jacks
The East Texas Pump Jacks started Saturday in a tie with the Coppell Copperheads for second place, 2.5 games behind the McKinney Marshals for first.
When Saturday night’s game in Coppell concluded, not only had the Pump Jacks slipped into third place, but the Copperheads had done something that no other team had been able to do this season: Beat East Texas in extra innings.
Coppell scored in the bottom of the tenth inning to steal a win from the Jacks, 8-7, and take over second place all alone with seven games remaining in the regular season. The top two teams in the league will have home-field advantage in the TCL playoffs, which begin on Tuesday, August 5.
The Pump Jacks held an early 4-1 lead but had to rally with two runs in the top of the ninth to push the game into extra innings. The Copperheads were able to score with two outs in the tenth inning with the help of two East Texas errors, sending the Jacks home with their first loss of the season in extra frames. The Pump Jacks had been 4-0 in games that went extra innings.
East Texas grabbed the lead in the first when Paige Hodges singled home Adam De La Garza, who had led off the game with a single.
In the third, J.D. Dunn singled with one out and Matt Curry singled him to third base. One out later, Dunn scored and Curry moved to second on a wild pitch. Garrett Smith followed with a triple to right that scored Curry and gave the Pump Jacks a 3-0 lead.
The Copperheads responded with a run in the bottom of the third off of Matt Sparks, who was making just his second start of the season for the Jacks.
But East Texas answered with another run in the fourth. Ed Hurta, in his first at-bat of the season, reached on an error, then advanced to second on Logan Moro’s single. Jared Wondra moved both runners up a base with a groundout. With De La Garza at the plate, Hurta scored and Moro found himself at third after another Coppell wild pitch. But the Jacks couldn’t push another run across; De La Garza grounded to the first baseman, who threw home and nailed Moro trying to score.
Coppell chipped away at the lead with two runs in the sixth, making the score 4-3. When the first two batters for the Copperheads reached base in the seventh inning, it spelled the end of the night for Sparks. Bryan Dixon came on in relief, but after a sacrifice and a two-run single, Coppell had stolen the lead, 5-4.
For the night, Sparks pitched six-plus innings and gave up five runs, four of them earned. He struck out five while allowing six hits and just one walk.
The Jacks tied the game in the top of the eighth on a run-scoring single by Dunn. Dexter Moreno took over for Hurta as designated hitter and led off with a single. Duke replaced Moreno to give East Texas speed on the basepaths. Moro moved Duke to second with a sacrifice bunt, and one out later the Copperheads intentionally walked the dangerous De La Garza. With runners at first and second and two outs, Dunn came through with the RBI single to tie the game, 5-5.
But again, Coppell added a pair of runs to take another lead in the bottom of the eighth. Dixon pitched through the end of the eighth, giving up two runs in two innings pitched. He walked two, struck out two, and allowed five hits.
Down 7-5 in the ninth, the Cardiac Jacks responded. Hodges and Smith opened with singles to put runners at first and second. Two outs later, Steven Martin, who has tremendous power at the plate to compliment his mid-90’s fastball, pinch-hit for Moro and earned a walk to load the bases. Wondra then came through in the clutch, lining a single to left that scored two to tie the game, and moving up to second on the throw home. With first base open, the Copperheads again walked De La Garza intentionally to load the bases. The strategy worked, as Dunn grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Pat McCrory came on to pitch in the ninth and held the Copperheads off the board for an inning. But in the bottom of the tenth, the Jacks’ makeshift defense couldn’t hold together. With one out, Robert Barbosa reached on an error, stole second, and moved to third on the errant throw. One out later, an RBI single to center ended the game.
McCrory (2-2) took the hard-luck loss, allowing an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. The Kilgore native struck out three, walked two, and gave up just one hit.
Offensively, the Pump Jacks pounded out 15 hits, with the top of the order leading the way. The Pump Jacks’ one through five hitters – De La Garza, Dunn, Curry, Hodges, and Smith – went a combined 11-for-26. Each one scored a run and had at least two hits, with Smith registering three safeties, including his RBI triple.
The loss drops the Pump Jacks to 20-21 on the season, one day after reaching .500 for the first time all summer. With seven games remaining, East Texas is 3.5 games out of first but only one game behind the second-place Copperheads. With home-field advantage on the line, the Jacks still have their eyes on at least second place. East Texas and Coppell will face off again Sunday night before the Pump Jacks return home for a season-ending six-game homestand. The two teams will do battle next weekend in a two-game set that could determine home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Pump Jacks will be back in town next Tuesday to open a six-game homestand that will finish out the regular season. All of your favorite promotions will be part of the final homestand, including Fireworks Friday on August 1, plus a team poster giveaway on Saturday, August 2. Thursday, July 31 will be another Thirsty Thursday – with 50-cent small soft drinks and draft beers for just one dollar – and Sunday, August 3, will be Family Night at Driller Park. The homestand will kick off with Two Dollar Tuesday and Pump Jacks Pride Wednesday. Bring your friends and family to be part of the final homestand of the Pump Jacks first-ever regular season.
Mark your calendars for August 5 – the date the TCL playoffs will begin – because the Pump Jacks are going to be a part of it! Depending on where the team finishes in the standings, the Pump Jacks will play their first-ever home playoff game at Driller Park on either Tuesday, August 5, or Wednesday, August 6. More information will be available during the final homestand, so be sure to visit pumpjacksbaseball.com for all the details.
Tickets for the final homestand are on sale now. Fans may purchase tickets at the Pump Jacks office at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 120, in Kilgore, or over the phone at (903) 218-GO ET. Tickets may also be purchased online – and printed at home on any home printer – by visiting www.pumpjacksbaseball.com.
Single-game tickets start at $5 each – or $4 for children and seniors – for grandstand general admission tickets. Upper Box seats are $8 each, and Lower Box seats, which feature in-your-seat wait service, are only $10 per ticket.
