Pearland diamondmen advance to 6A Region III finals
May 31, 2024
The Oilers won the last best-of-three series 2-1 over Spring Branch Memorial. Now they will face the Cy-Fair Bobcats in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the 6A state baseball tournament in Round Rock.
Pearland beat Memorial 4-3 in Game 1 as Jake Mader-Cooper was the winning pitcher while Trevor Ainsworth picked up the save to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead in the series.
Memorial bounced back in Game 2 to take a 3-1 win to tie the series and force a deciding Game 3 with the winner advancing to the 6A Region III finals.
All-Stater junior Nico Partida took the mound for the Oilers in the critical contest and came away with a solid 8-1 win to send Pearland to the regional title game.
Partida, who is the regular shortstop for the Oilers, was in total command with a 94-96 mph fast ball while also using excellent off-speed pitches to keep the Mustangs off balance. Partida got the victory while fanning 11 hitters while allowing only one run on three hits.
The Arizona State commit was a first-team All-State pitcher for the Oilers last season as a sophomore after leading Pearland to the 6A state title game.
The Oilers have a very talented pitching staff led by Mader-Cooper (Rice), Jaden Barfield (OU), Partida (ASU), Trevor Ainsworth.
Pearland’s regional championship appearance is its fourth since 2009 and the Oilers are 4-0 all-time in this round.
The Oilers advance to the 6A Region III finals for the second straight season where they will face the Cy-Fair Bobcats at Constellation Field in Sugar Land with Game 1 on Thursday, May 30 at 7:00 p.m. Game 2 will be on Friday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. and Game 3 (if needed) will be on Saturday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m.
The winner of this series advances to the 6A state baseball tournament in Round Rock next week.
