BRYAN, Texas — For the 15th consecutive season, the Brazos Valley Bombers entered the TCL Playoffs as they look to win their third consecutive TCL Championship. The Bombers took Edible Field on Tuesday night against the first place San Antonio Flying Chanclas to kickoff the divisional round of the 2021 TCL Playoffs.
Edible Field was full of playoff energy as season ticket members, host families, and Bombers faithful of all ages came out to support the Bombers on their quest for the organization’s eighth championship in its fifteen year history.
Fast starts and capitalizing off of opponents' mistakes are things that Coach James Dillard has emphasized to his team if they want to have a shot at a long playoff run, and that's exactly what the Bombers did on Tuesday night. In the first inning, center fielder Dylan Rock was able to get the first hit of the game with a two out single. Two pitches later, Rock was able to advance to second due to a pass ball by San Antonio, setting up the Bombers to put a run across.
Right fielder Zane Schmidt took advantage of the opportunity and ripped a line drive to center field, scoring Rock and giving the Bombers an early lead.
The Bombers would face some adversity in Tuesday night’s matchup as a second inning grand slam by San Antonio gave them an early lead. The bats of the Bombers wouldn’t back down from a fight as they battled to keep their team afloat.
In the fourth inning, second baseman Daniel Altman smoked an RBI double to the centerfield wall to score Schmidt and get the Bombers back in it. Edible Field roared as Altman flew around first and dove head first into second, losing his helmet and bouncing right up pumping his fist at the Bombers dugout.
Despite the fiery play and hustle of the offense, the defense of the Bombers made one too many mistakes. Errors, walks, and hit batters ultimately were the downfall of the Bombers as San Antonio won game one of the best of three series 9-3.
There were bright spots for the Bombers bullpen as pitcher Jack Brinley came in and pitched three and two thirds quality innings, only allowing two hits and striking out four batters. Pitcher Brandon Hendrix also had a strong outing to close out the game for the Bombers, pitching the final three innings giving up no runs and recording two strikeouts.
The pitching of the Bombers has been strong all season and Coach Dillard still relies on the staff to come up big in the TCL Playoffs.
“We were one of the best teams in the second half for a reason. This pitching staff has been amazing for us and we know that games like this happen. We’ve got a resilient group and I know they’re going to bounce back,” Dillard said.
Not all hope is lost for the Bombers as they will travel to San Antonio tomorrow for the remaining two games of the best of three series.Coach Dillard and his suad are optimistic and know what they have to do to walk away with two wins in San Antonio.
“We just have to have a short term memory. We got Carson Atwood on the mound for us tomorrow who has been sharp all season and we just need to wash it and come out tomorrow ready to play,” Dillard said.
Depending on the results of the Victoria and Acadiana series, the Bombers could potentially be the hosts of the 2021 TCL Championship at Edible Field on Saturday, August 7.
