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The Llano baseball Yellow Jackets hit the ball well, got two superb pitching performances, and overcame one of their longest bus rides of the season to finish second in the Snyder tournament. The host school, Class 3A champions in 2008, was one of ten squads in the gathering in west Texas.

We’ll get to all that after we tell you Bandera downed Llano 10-8, March 1. “We made five errors,” head coach Brad Harman lamented, “and that’s the most we’ve made in a game in my year and a half here. Our hitting, base running, and pitching were fine—not our fielding.” Clayton Maples had a pair of hits, and Raven Herron went three-for-five.

The play of the game occurred with the bases loaded, and Dean Redden at the plate. He put down a squeeze bunt. Your hope is to get one man in and maybe Dean will beat out the bunt for a single. This one got one in all right—and two more! One error helped plus some laziness on the Bulldog infield, as the third man raced home.

Llano 8, Perryton 2

“What impressed me the most,” Harman said, “was we got on the bus at 6:00 A.M., Thursday, March 4, and drove four hours to Snyder for the tournament.” (That’s “only” about 60 miles west of Abilene.) “Not long after our arrival we played the first of two games, back to back, and we won both.”

Taylor Osbourn went six innings against the Rangers and allowed just four hits; he struck out five, and only one run against him was earned. Shortstop Travis Ramos and outfielder Dallas Redden had two hits each. “I was proud of how we played,” Harman noted.

Yes, Perryton is the team the Llano basketball girls beat in the state semifinals before capturing the State Championship in March 2002. Where is Perryton located? I’ve written this before: if its tallest player stands up, he’ll bump his head on Oklahoma soil.

Llano 6, Big Spring 5

Junior Preston Rabb was a bit north of sensational. He struck out a dozen and went all eight innings in the extra-inning triumph. “A remarkable job,” Harman declared.

Ramos had a pair of doubles and four runs batted in. You think this junior can hit?

In the last of the eighth, Estevan Aviles walked and advanced to second on a passed ball. Osbourn came in to pinch hit, and he laid down a bunt. The ball was thrown wild to first, and Este scored the winning run.

Thursday recap: two games, 15 innings, two wins, one four-hour bus ride, good night, everybody.

Llano 10, Snyder 0

Yes, what a nasty way to treat your hosts, and blame a lot of it on Dallas Redden. He followed Rabb’s lead and struck out 11 in just five innings of the mercy-rule contest. Some mercy. Redden lost his no-hitter with one out in the fifth.

“It’s a lot easier when your first pitch is a strike with your fast ball, and then you can fool ‘em after that,” Dallas explained. “Once you a put a deuce on them, it’s all over.” Dean caught the special deliveries. “It was his best showing of the year, great velocity, and he was excellent with his off-speed pitches.”

Herron and Maples had two hits each.

Llano 3, Midland Greenwood 3

This was the first game of a day-night doubleheader, March 6. The tie was no problem, as the Jackets had already clinched a berth in the championship contest.

Estevan Aviles was the story of the game. Recovering from an injured wrist he’s endured since football season, he pitched for the first time this season. He went four and two-thirds innings, struck out five, and allowed one earned run. “It was good to see him on the mound,” Harman noted. “This was definitely a highlight.”

Sophomore Clay Tarter had two doubles.

This was the second tie of the season with the Wood brothers, both favoring the crayon: Brownwood and Greenwood.

The final was not at all memorable as Class 4A Canyon whipped Llano 10-3.

Harman was “extremely pleased” with the event in Snyder, as it produced three wins, a loss, and a tie, and the team’s record is 6-3-2. “My goal is to put us in the best position I can before district, so I wanted to come to a tournament like this. 10 teams were entered, and six of those, sometime in their history, have been to the Final Four.

“We wanted to take on big 3A and 4A schools, which would give our guys a tough challenge.

“I know this trip will pay dividends later. I think we left Snyder 10 times better than when we arrived.”