College Sports

By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer

Tyler Junior College baseball coach Jon Groth has been able to stop and smell the roses during his 16 years with the Apaches.

He has special baseballs — signed by his players — for career victories No. 1, 100, 200, 300 ... and now, 400.

The Apaches gave Groth No. 400 by defeating Texas College, 6-4, at Mike Carter Field in the first game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader.

TJC won the second game two innings early, scoring five times in the seventh for a 14-4 run-rule victory.

Between games, the TJC players surprised Groth with a signed wooden bat to mark the latest milestone.

“It was a very nice memento,” said Groth, whose program captured its first national championship last season. “The thing I value about milestones is to stop and smell the roses.”

With a weekend three-game sweep over the NAIA Steers, the Apaches are off to a 3-0 start entering conference play on Friday.

“I think defensively we didn’t play as sharp as we wanted to,” Groth said. “I was very pleased with how we swung the bats. I think with the pitching, we just have to figure out who’s going to do what.”

Michael LaCourse and Jay Haak were both valuable relievers last year, but they have begun this year as starters. LaCourse won his outing on Saturday, and Haak followed suit on Sunday despite struggling with the strike zone.

Haak allowed two runs on five hits in four innings, including four strikeouts and one walk.

Justin Eatherly had an impressive save in closing out the 6-4 victory with two scoreless innings.

Robert E. Lee graduate Blake Worthen picked up the win in Sunday’s second game. He pitched the first four innings and allowed one run. Newcomer Michael Banks of Hope, Ark., threw well in two innings of middle relief.

“It’s a good start,” Groth said. “I think we saw snapshots of what we want to repeat. We’ll prepare this week for a very competitive North Lake team.”

Offensively, sophomore right fielder Clint Stroud picked up where he left off in winning MVP honors as a freshman in the Metro Athletic Conference. Stroud had five consecutive hits in the doubleheader and finished 5-for-7.

Defensively, the strong-armed right fielder threw out two runners in the same game — one was trying to turn a single into a double, and another was simply trying to get to first on a ball that dropped in shallow right field.

The Apaches notched seven doubles in the 14-4 win, including two by Lee graduate Tyler Pirtle. Pirtle, Brandyn Greer and Stroud combined for eight hits in the victory from the top three spots in the batting order.

For Texas College, the series with the Apaches counted as exhibitions. The Steers appear to be improved over last year, but pitching remains a question mark.

“We learned a lot about ourselves today,” said TC head coach Freddy Rodriguez. “You’ve got to give TJC credit. They’re No. 1 (in NJCAA D-III) for a reason. They came out and played really good baseball. We’re a little short on pitching. It’s just the depth. I think our starters are going to come around.

“We definitely have a closer in Robert Gordon.”

Former Lindale standout Matt Sockwell went 4-for-8 hitting cleanup for the Steers in the doubleheader. Catcher Westley Clingman was 3-for-4 in Sunday’s opener.

TJC 6, Texas College 4
Texas College 110 002 0 — 4 9 6
Tyler 400 200 x — 6 7 2
Robert Jones and Westley Clingman; Jay Haak, Zac Zielinski (5), Justin Eatherly (6) and Kegan Johnson. W — Haak (1-0); L — Jones. 2B — TC: Robert Tamplin, Robert Gordon, Tyler Rhoades; TJC: Clint Stroud 2, Roy Harteveld.

TJC 14, Texas College 4 (7)
Texas College 100 001 2 — 4 9 4
Tyler 430 110 5 — 14 16 1
Tyler Franklin, James Mullenax (2), Robert Gordon (5), Joe Edmond (7) and John Marc Rea; Blake Worthen, Michael Banks (5), Blake Duerler (7) and Mike McCollum. W — Worthen (1-0); L — Franklin. 2B — TC: Ray Suarez, Kyle Horan; TJC: Tyler Pirtle 2, Brandyn Greer 2, Steven Headley, Jordon Vierra, McCollum; SB — TJC: Greer, Matt Johnson.
RECORDS — Tyler, 3-0.
NEXT UP — Lyon College (Ark.) at Texas College, Friday; North Lake at Tyler, 2 p.m. Friday.
EST. ATT. — 150.

Jon Groth
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