Jesuit Dallas rallied from an early 3-0 deficit, scoring one or more runs in each of the final four innings to upend Arlington, 7-4, on Thursday night at Grand Prairie H.S. The Rangers take command of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region I-6A Bi-District round with the victory, and will look to close out the Colts on Friday at Wright Field.
Junior
Dillon Brandt earned his eighth win of the season with a complete game performance on the mound, striking out nine batters. At the plate, the sophomore trio of
Braxton Barber,
James Jorgensen and
Taylor Haddock scattered two hits and one RBI apiece while junior
Jake Fults scored three of the team's seven runs while adding two hits of his own. Junior
E'Mar Fleming II drove in a run with a fourth inning single, going 1-for-3 rom the plate as senior
Jake Jorgensen scored the final run for the Rangers.
The Colts (17-14-1) entered the matchup as the third seed out of District 8-6A, but struck first with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. After being held scoreless after three innings, the Rangers struck back with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth. A double to center by
James Jorgensen scored Fults for Jesuit's first run of the game before a fielding error on a single by Fleming opened the door for Jorgensen and Haddock to cross the plate and tie the contest.
After Arlington retook the lead with a run in the fourth, Fults singled to center to drive home Barber, and then scored on a pair of Arlington errors to give Jesuit its first lead of the contest. Insurance runs driven in by Barber and Haddock provided Brandt with enough cushion to settle the determined Colt bats down the stretch.
Jesuit will welcome Arlington to Wright Field for a 7 p.m. first pitch on Friday. If necessary, game three will return to Grand Prairie at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The winner of the Jesuit-Arlington series is set to take on the winner of the Flower Mound-Little Elm series in the UIL Region I-6A Area Round. In the first game of that series, contested earlier on Thursday, reigning UIL 6A State Champion Flower Mound toppled Little Elm, 7-1.
