Cade Haak
SHERMAN, Texas (July 3, 2024) – Game one of five between the Texarkana Rhinos and
Sherman Shadowcats went in favor of the Rhinos, as they scored seven runs in the final two
innings to close out the game with a 14-8 win.
Both teams scored their first runs of the game in the third inning. The Rhinos scored two runs in
the top of the third. The first was scored when Alex DeLeon was hit by a pitch with the bases
loaded, which scored Ian Guanzon. Their second run came across due to a passed ball that
allowed Gabriel Nativitdad to cross home plate safely. The Shadowcats did not allow this lead to
last long for the Rhinos, as they scored five runs on four hits in response in the bottom of the
third and then added two more to their total as Korson Hastings hit a shot over the outfield wall
to clear Easton Ford off the bases.
The Shadowcats held onto their one-run lead for just one inning before the Rhinos responded in
the top of the sixth. In the top of the sixth, Texarkana was able to create a two-out rally in which
they scored five runs and battled all the way back to tie the game. The first of the five runs
scored this inning by the Rhinos was by Sloan Laird. Laird scored on a single that Ian Guanzon
batted into right field. Next, after Natividad was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Rylan Evans
showed plate discipline and drew a walk to bring in the second run. Directly following Evans’
walk, Neil Jansen did what he does best and crushed a ball past the right fielder and turned the
well-hit ball into a base-path-clearing triple to tie the game.
The top of the eighth inning saw a similar process from the Rhinos; their first two at-bats
resulted in strikeouts, and then the team was able to put together another rally to score two
runs. With the two outs, Neil Jansen and Alex DeLeon both walked to get on, then Sloan Laird
hit a ball to the second baseman, who committed an error, allowing Laird to reach first safely
and Jansen and DeLeon to score. Sherman scored one singular run in the home half of the
eighth inning, but the ninth saw the Rhinos final push prove to be too much to handle.
To kick off the final frame of the night, Ian Guanzon and Evans both singled, then, with two outs,
Neil Jansen doubled his RBI total on the game by hitting a three-run shot over the outfield fence
to push the rhinos lead to four. Texarkana then capped off their night by adding two final
insurance runs when the Shadowcats center fielder committed an error on a ball hit by
Sebastian Huerta. This error allowed the last two runs of the ball game to score.
The win will go onto the stat sheet of Chance Reed, his second of the season. Reed came in as
a middle reliever, but the Rhinos took and held onto the lead during his 2.1 innings pitched.
