Eastfield Coasts to Run-Rule Win to Open District Tourney

HIGHLIGHTS

MESQUITE, Texas – Dallas College Eastfield's No. 1-ranked baseball team carved out an 11-1 five-inning run-rule victory over Dallas College Cedar Valley to open the double-elimination round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament Thursday.

The Harvester Bees (42-13) advance to meet fifth-seeded Dallas College Mountain View (22-30) in Friday's 9 a.m. semifinals. Cedar Valley (19-35) faces Dallas College Brookhaven (24-28) in a win-and-advance-or-lose-and-go-home game at noon. The winner of Friday's middle game will play the loser of the morning semifinal.

Bees sophomore left-handed starter Benjamin Sheppard (9-0) went the distance, allowing a run on four hits and three walks to remain perfect on the season. His offense did the rest.

"It makes it real easy when you know they're going to put up runs every single game," Sheppard said of his offense. "And even if you get a little behind like we did in the first inning, they're going to come out swinging and put up runs."

Eastfield responded from Cedar Valley's run in the first inning when Sergio Gastelum crushed his 10^th home run of the season after fouling a few off down the left side before keeping a moonshot within the pole for a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Jayden Boyd slammed his 13^th homer of the year – another two-run shot to left to give the Harvesters a three-run cushion.

The Bees added two more in the second, and extended the lead to 10-1 in the third thanks to Luke Sasser's two-run single, Sebastian Palma's sacrifice fly and Erik Aguirre's run-scoring single. They put it away in the bottom of the fifth after Sasser reached on a bunt, and Palma cranked a double to the deep part of the park.

Palma increased his nation-leading RBI total to 93 in walk-off fashion. Sasser was 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Aguirre went 2 for 2, and Keydren Majors doubled in one of his three at-bats as the Harvester Bees pounded 10 hits in the 11-run parade.

Cedar Valley leadoff hitter Kane Whitney singled, doubled and scored the Suns' lone run. Kai Kirchheiner had a single and a walk. Elandis Taylor had the other hit for the Suns, who were left stranded with runners on base in four innings after Sheppard kept putting up his wall of defense.

Sheppard cruised through the middle innings, needing to face only one extra hitter in the third and fourth innings and two more in the fifth, to improve to 20-2 in his Eastfield two-year career.

The Bees stranded six runners, leaving two on base in each of the first three innings -- a sign of the offense that kept the wheels turning in abbreviated victory.

"Our offense has been good all year," Sheppard said. "We came out early in this game, and helped me settle in and keep putting up zeros, and help us get the win."