Tyler Legacy rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth and beat Wylie East 6-4 in Game 1 of their Class 6A Division II bi-district series on Wednesday. The Raiders tied the game earlier but could not hold the lead late. Game 1 was moved to Wylie East because of weather concerns.
Wylie East senior Levi Scroggin, pictured in previous action, struck out five over five innings in Game 1 of a Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff series against Tyler Legacy on Wednesday.
Wylie East had recent experience in tight games. In the final week of the regular season they beat crosstown rival Wylie 4-1 and 3-2. On Wednesday the Raiders fell behind 2-0, rallied to tie, and pushed the game into the late innings before Tyler Legacy broke through.
Senior pitcher Levi Scroggin gave Wylie East five strong innings and struck out five. The defense helped him with key plays behind the mound. “That’s just the way that Levi has been all year,” head coach Heath Andrews said of Scroggin, who finished with five strikeouts. “He’s steady. If things get a little rocky or he gets a little tired, he’ll work his way back in. That’s what he does. He’s pretty deceptive with his pitches. He gets people to hit out in front of a pitch and gets ground balls and fly balls. He’s a senior leader. That’s our guy. He gave us a chance to win.”
Wylie East turned two big defensive moments. Junior shortstop Parker Brunson started a double play in the second to stop a threat. In the next inning junior catcher Matthew O’Neill threw out a runner at second to end another rally.
The Raiders got on the board in the third when O’Neill hit an opposite-field single to score Brandon Johnson. Tyler Legacy briefly led 3-1 after a Cale Zips RBI single in the fifth. Wylie East tied it in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Lukas Harold and an RBI single by Brunson. “We knew that if we could get Jaden Davis to throw some balls and make him pitch a little bit, we could have some success,” Andrews said.
Wylie East had chances late. The Raiders had the go-ahead run on in the sixth and the winning run on in the eighth but left both stranded. Tyler Legacy took the lead for good in the ninth when an error allowed a run and Zips followed with a two-run single to make it 6-3. Wylie East scored once more in the ninth on an O’Neill RBI groundout, but a flyout and a strikeout ended the game. “We had our chances,” Andrews said. “We had our top guys up to hit and runners in scoring position. That was the difference today. They got runners at second and were able to drive in guys with two outs. We had the opportunities ourselves and we didn’t match that.”
Games 2 and 3, if needed, are scheduled for Saturday at Mike Carter Field in Tyler. Wylie East will try to bounce back on the road as the best-of-three series moves forward.
