Walker High second baseman Gabe Inman (6) tries to turn the double play.
Walker High's Spencer Murray (26) tries to keep a Zachary runner from stealing a base.
Walker's Cody King (10).
ZACHARY – Zachary pitchers Tanner Hall and Zack Farr combined on a two-hit shutout of District 4-5A foe Walker in an 8-0 victory Monday in a Class 5A state playoff opener at Herty Field.
Both pitchers allowed one hit each, walked a trio of batters while striking out eight against the No. 29 Wildcats.
Zachary (26-8) host No. 20 East Ascension in a best-of-three regional series beginning Friday.
“Both guys have been good for us all year,” Zachary coach Jacob Fisher said. “They were able to throw strikes and give us the opportunity to win. We didn’t think that we gave them out best show here the first go around and this time I think we were able to execute better.”
Walker coach Randy Sandifer was very complimentary of Zachary.
“My hats off to Zachary,” he said. “They’re pretty damn good team. There’s a reason they’re fourth in the state right now.”
Zachary, which loaded the bases in the first with one out, scratched across one run when Brady Hernandez hit an infield single off Walker pitcher Cody King’s glove. In the second, Creed David was able to drive in another run with a one-out single down the third-base line to score Lane Felder, who reached on a one-out walk.
The Broncos made it 3-0 in the third after a leadoff single from LSU signee Alex Milazzo came around to score following a walk to Maverick McClure and a dropped fly ball off the bat of Hernandez.
With runners at second and third with no outs, Zachary put on the safety squeeze but missed the bunt.
Milazzo was caught in a rundown and safely returned to third, which was occupied by Hernandez. Because the bag was controlled by Milazzo, Hernandez was tagged out.
With nobody covering home, Milazzo was able to score safely to give the Broncos a 4-0 lead.
Zachary added two runs in the fourth off three hits and then increased its lead to 8-0 in the fifth.
“For the hitters, all the averages and stats go out the window (in playoffs),” Fisher said. “It’s all about executing and being able to get the next guy up. That’s the only way you’ll be able to move on to the next round. We did a good job of being able to do that.”
Said Sandifer, “It wasn’t one big inning. It was five innings of them constantly having guys on.”
It wasn’t the conclusion Sandifer was looking for this team (11-21), but the turnaround the team enjoyed at the start of District 4-5A play where they lead going into the second round was an example of team’s future.
“It took us about five weeks to figure out who we were and what we needed to do,” Sandifer said. “The last three weeks I think we’ve played like a totally different team. We were a little better than our record at the end. Unfortunately, the first half counts just as much. I don’t know if it’s growing or maturity, but we got much better.”
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