The Minden Crimson Tide rallied past the Iota Bulldogs 5-4 in Game 1 of their best-of-3 non-select Division II second-round playoff series Friday afternoon at Griffith Stadium.
Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Saturday following Game 2. Minden, the No. 8 seed, improved to 23-11. No. 9 seed Iota dropped to 19-10.
Minden trailed 4-2 through six innings and had only four hits. The Tide got three consecutive hits with one out in the seventh. The final one, a single by starting pitcher Landon Brewer with the bases loaded, gave Minden the victory.
Leadoff batter Keegan Pope started the rally by drawing a walk. Dakota Streetman was hit by a pitch with one out. Topher Wilson drew a walk, loading the bases.
Barron Bower made it a one-run game with a single to right field. Bray Winston singled to center, tying the game.
The Tide couldn’t have asked for a better situation with senior leader and top hitter Brewer coming to the plate with the bases loaded.
Brewer delivered. With the count at two balls and one strike, he smashed a line drive to left field, scoring courtesy runner Cody Pruitt.
Brewer came up big in third, hitting a two-run home run with two outs. Bower singled with one out earlier in the inning. The homer tied the game at two.
It didn’t stay that way for long. The Bulldogs scored two on a two-out double by Hudson Daigle in the top of the fourth.
Minden had baserunners in the fourth and fifth but they didn’t advance past first.
Brewer went five innings. He allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked three. Two of Iota’s four runs against him were unearned.
Bower replaced him at the start of the sixth. He walked two with two outs but induced a flyout to end the inning. He sat the Bulldogs down in order in the top of the seventh.
Brewer and Bower both went 2-for-4. Brewer finished with three RBI.
Pope and Jaxon Smith had one single each.
Iota starter Lance Miller allowed four hits in 6 1/3 innings with one strikeout and three walks.
Jakson Yeager had a two-out, two-run single in the top of the third.