Look: Laredo Alexander rolls to 8-1 victory over San Antonio Taft in opening game of 6A Bi-District series
LAREDO, Texas - The Laredo Alexander Bulldogs are no stranger to the postseason, having strung together 27 consecutive playoff appearances, the longest streak in the Gateway City.
On Friday night the Bulldogs looked every bit the part of a playoff-seasoned team, beating San Antonio Taft 8-1 in the opening game of their three game Class 6A Bi-District baseball playoff series.
Now the series shifts to San Antonio for game two on Saturday at Northside Field One. First pitch is schedule for 1 p.m. If necessary, game three will take place 30 minutes after game two.
“Real proud of our kids and the way they played tonight,” Laredo Alexander head coach Fernando Lemus said. “Emir (Encalada) did an excellent job on the mound and the defense backed him up. The bottom of the lineup got us going again tonight with (Jeremy) Gabrillo’s single. Feels good to get game one. Now God willing we can take care of business tomorrow in San Antonio.”
Laredo Alexander, the District 30-6A champions, outhit San Antonio Taft 9-4 with Josh Torres leading the way going 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Encalada picked up the victory after striking out six batters and only allowing four hits. Marco Villanueva came on in relief in the seventh inning.
After a scoreless game through four innings, Laredo Alexander pulled away in the fifth. With the bases loaded Torres ripped a line drive to the outfield, scoring Gabrillo and Rocco Garza-Gongora to put Laredo Alexander up 2-0 and open the floodgates.
Garza followed with an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. After loading the bases, Jerry Castillo ripped a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a commanding 5-0 lead. Gabrillo, who opened the inning, drew a walk to push home the final run of the inning, giving Laredo Alexander a 6-0 lead.
San Antonio Taft, the No. 4 seed from District 29-6A, could not find an answer to Laredo Alexander’s offense.
The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning on Zepeda’s two-run double to take an 8-0 lead into the final inning.
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