Abilene North loses to Waco

By MICKEY HUMPHREY
Special Writer

WACO - The wilting 110-degree heat index took its toll on players and fans alike Sunday at the Texas Junior League state tournament.

Just ask Abilene North pitcher Kevin Goodman.

On a day when two fans were hospitalized because of the sizzling conditions, Goodman held Waco Lake Air hitless for three innings before eventually running out of steam.

Steven Johnson blasted a two-run home run as Lake Air rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and rolled to an 8-5 win over Abilene North in an elimination game.

"The heat and humidity really got to us," said Abilene North manager Dean Goodman. "We all got tired. Kevin was on top of his pitches, but he ran out of steam."

The 13-year-old Goodman quickly and effortlessly posted nine outs by strikeout or popup before Geoffrey Ogden singled to lead off the fourth for Lake Air's first hit.

"Goodman was really mixing his pitches up well early," said Lake Air manager Jay Jeffrey, who quarterbacked Baylor to a Southwest Conference football championship in 1980. "He was really spotting it on the outside. The umpire had a wide strike zone and (Goodman) hitting the corners."

A run-scoring double by Lake Air pitcher Ryan Jeffrey and RBI single by Justin Laird tied the game 2-2 before Lake Air took a 5-4 lead it never lost in the fifth on Johnson's home run.

Jeffrey went the distance for Lake Air to collect the win, despite giving up 10 hits and mammoth home runs to Jon Gonzales and Nathan Garza.

Garza ripped a two-run shot over the 325-foot fence in straightaway center field to give Abilene North a 2-0 lead in the third inning and Gonzales hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh.
"The heat really got to everyone," said Jeffrey. "When Ryan got tired he was still able to throw strikes, but we were able to sit on Goodman's fastball when he got tired."

After Lake Air tied the game at 2-2, Abilene North punched out two runs for a 4-2 lead in the fourth. Consecutive singles by Chris Blannon, Christopher Gage and Jacob Neves, and a sacrifice fly by Derek Phipps put Abilene North back on top.

Defense eventually proved to be Abilene North's undoing. An error, two groundouts and a balk by Goodman led to Lake Air's first run in a pivotal three-run fifth inning. An Ogden single and Johnson's homer gave Lake Air a 5-4 lead.

Lake Air then put the game away with a three-run seventh inning. Two Abilene North errors and another balk resulted in two Lake Air runs and Zach Duke added a run-scoring single to give the hometown team an 8-4 lead.

Abilene North could have put the game away early. North put two runners on base in the first and second innings, but failed to score.

"A run or two in those first two innings would have made a big difference," said Coach Goodman. "We might still be playing if we could have got it going then.

"We thought this team had a chance to get to state when we started off. The whole team came together and played solid. We've got a chance to be back next year."

Blannon and Gage each went 2 for 3 for Abilene North. Goodman struck out five Lake Air batters before giving way to Gonzales with one out in the seventh.

Lake Air<n>000<n>230<n>3<n>-8<n>8<n>0
Abilene North<n>002<n>200<n>1<n>-5<n>10<n>3
Ryan Jeffrey and Justin Laird. Kevin Goodman, Jon Gonzales and Rickey Hernandez. W - Jeffrey. L - Goodman. 2B - Lake Air: Jeffrey. HR - Lake Air: Steven Johnson; Abilene North: Gonzales, Nathan Garza.