Rogers' diamondmen battle back to eliminate Atascocita with two-game rally

May 23, 2024

PEARLAND ADVANCES TO 6A REGION III SEMIFINALS
The Oilers won the best-of-three series vs Atascocita 2-1 to keep their season alive in their quest to repeat as region champions and a return to the 6A state tournament.
Pearland improves to 31-7-2 overall and will face Spring Branch Memorial in a best-of-three series beginning Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. at UH.
[Photo by Lloyd Hendricks]

The Pearland baseball team is on a mission and head coach David Rogers couldn't be prouder after his diamondmen fought back to send the Atascocita Eagles home with two losses after dropping the playoff opener 2-0.

The Eagles handed the Oilers their first post-season loss, ending a 10-game winning streak. Pearland was shut out for just the third time this season. Atascocita had won 18 of its past 20 games.

Game 1 was a pitchers’ duel between Atascocita sophomore Ty Higginbotham and Pearland Rice signee Jake Mader-Cooper. Going into the third inning, with the score at 0-0, a lighting delay paused the game for two hours and four minutes.

CJ Toney’s RBI double in the fourth inning gave Atascocita a 1-0 lead. Northwestern State commit Kaden McCoy added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for the insurance run making the score 2-0.

Higginbotham reached his pitch limit in the seventh after Arizona State commit Nico Partida hit a two-out double to keep Pearland’s hopes alive. Partida led the Oilers by going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The two teams played one another last year with the Oilers winning Game 1 and the Eagles taking Game 2 to force a third game which was won by Pearland as they went on to win the Region III crown and advanced to the 6A state title game in Round Rock before falling to Flower Mound 6-4

“Their (Pearland) backs are against the wall and they’re a top-ranked team in the state for a reason,” Atascocita head coach Jeremy O’Neil said. “They’re going to come out with everything they have in Game 2. We have to start everything all over on Saturday and go get the game.”

Game 2 - Pearland 1 - Atascocita 0 (10 innings)

In a must-win Game 2 for Pearland, the Oilers and the Eagles battled for nine scoreless innings until Pearland scored a run in the bottom of the tenth when John Moya got a walk-off bunt RBI that scored Damian Landry giving the Oilers a 1-0 victory.

The win sent the two teams to a Game 3 in the best-of-three series tied 1-1.

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CLUTCH PLAYER
Arizona State commit Nico Partida was a first-team All-State pitcher last year as a sophomore and moved to shortstop this season. He leads the Oilers in several hitting categories as his teammates are trying to return to the state baseball tournament where they lost in the state finals last year.
The junior had a big part in beating Atascocita to keep their playoff journey alive.
[Photo by Lloyd Hendricks]

Pearland senior and OU commit Jaden Barfield allowed three hits over 6 ⅔ scoreless innings for the Oilers (31-7-2) in Game 2. He finished with 10 strikeouts.

Game 3 - Pearland 6 - Atascocita 0

All-Stater Nico Partida took the mound in the deciding game between the Oilers and Atascocita and gave a clutch performance in a 6-0 shutout win for Pearland.

The Arizona State commit moved from his shortstop position to the pitcher's hill to show his versatility in a must-win situation allowing one hit over six scoreless innings. He finished with eight strikeouts. Top reliever senior Trevor Ainsworth slammed the door in the seventh frame to preserve the win.

Pearland advances to the 6A Region III semifinals, where they will face Houston Memorial in a best-of-three series beginning on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Houston. Game 2 will be at UH on Friday, May 24 at 7:00 p.m. and Game 3 (if needed) will be on Saturday, May 25 at 8:00 p.m. at UH.

The Oilers scored three runs in the second inning, one in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to post the 6-0 shutout.