District 16AA playoff race tightens

Daingerfield only trailed Hughes Springs 1 to 0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, in last Friday’s game, but three errors opened the door for the Mustangs to score 3 runs in the fifth inning and 2 more in the sixth to beat the Tigers 6 to 1.
Hughes Springs had to hold off a late Daingerfield rally in the top of the seventh when Colton Gibbs got on base on an error to lead off the inning. Malik Higgins singled and Keaton Key hit a blooper into shallow centerfield that seemed to have been dropped by the centerfielder. The umpire called it a catch and Higgins was doubled up on the play. Gibbs was tagged out to end the game, coming home on a check swing by Shawn Hooks.
Ty Wilson had the lone RBI for Daingerfield, and Josh Terry scored the only run for the Tigers. Terry got the loss for Daingerfield. He struck out four batters and walked one on the night.
Dylan Moore earned the win for the Mustangs, registering eight strikeouts, while walking five batters and only allowing two hits in six innings pitched.
The leading hitters for Hughes Springs were Cody Hawkins who was 2-for-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored; Chad McKinney, who was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI’s; and Zack Bassham, who was 2-for-4 on the night. Trenton Shelton had one hit, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI’s for the Mustangs. Eric Berryhill had a hit and an RBI.
On April 9, Daingerfield jumped out to a 4-0 lead and had to hold off a 3-run fifth inning rally to defeat New Boston 4-3.
Stone Kelley was the winning pitcher for the Tigers. Kelley gave up three hits, issued three walks and fanned three Lion batters in the five innings he pitched. Terry came in to earn the save pitching the final two innings and retiring the final six batters he faced, including striking out the side in the seventh inning.
The leading hitters for Daingerfield were Hooks who was 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double. Hooks scored 2 runs and had 1 RBI. Terry was 2-for-4 with a run scored and 1 RBI. Kelley, Ruben Mims, Gibbs and Higgins each contributed a hit for the Tigers.
Daingerfield played host to Queen City, Tuesday night for Senior Night and will travel to Omaha Friday to square off against Paul Pewitt with the game to begin at 5 p.m. Daingerfield will end the regular season on April 22nd against Hooks at home with a 4:30 start time.
Hughes Springs, with no District losses, is a shoo-in to win the district, since they have already beaten the second place team in the district, Queen City, twice.
Queen City, with only two District losses, both of them to frontrunner Hughes Springs, is sitting pretty at second place.
It looks like Daingerfield and Redwater will be battling it out for third place in District 16AA. The Tigers and Dragons split with each other in 1-run games.