Highs and lows are almost always guaranteed in postseason play, especially at the high school level.
The Permian baseball team found that out when it hosted Game 1 of its best-of-three series against El Paso Pebble Hills Friday, coming away with a narrow 10-9 victory at McCanlies Field.
Permian made the stops it needed to and got big hits from experienced veterans until a stumble in the fifth inning saw the Spartans take control of the game.
The Panthers regrouped just in time to start the series on the right foot.
“They don’t let the moment get too big,” Permian coach Tate Criswell said. “With a full house in the postseason and playing from behind, it’s easy for the moment to get too big for a teenage kid.
“But they stay in the moment and on that pitch, and it enables them to be successful.”
El Paso Pebble Hills found it difficult to get past Cooper Golden’s pitching early in the game, as the the senior allowed one hit and strukc out five through the game’s first four innings.
Permian’s playmakers took advantage, with Xavier Melendez making his presence felt in the bottom of the first.
Melendez gave the Panthers their first lead with a solo homer to left field, then hit another deep shot over the center field fence in the bottom of the third to extend the advantage to 2-0.
Gus McKay followed Melendez’s momentum-boosting hit with a solo home run of his own, giving the Panthers a three-run advantage going into the fourth.
The game took a completely different turn in the top of the fifth when El Paso Pebble Hills answered with eight runs.
Julian Moya hit a one-run double to right field to give the Spartans their first score of the game, followed by an RBI single from Jake Alvarez to cut the deficit to one run.
Alvarez then tied the game up after reaching home on an error, with a two-run homer from Sal Rocha giving El Paso Pebble Hills its first lead.
Chris Ulloa drove in Jake Ledesma with an RBI double, then scored, along with with Robert Deal, on an error to give the Spartans an 8-3 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
Permian’s Bryson Baer said he felt that the game was coming up quick on his team, but he always felt they could tie it back up in an instant.
The Panthers responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-6 and scored another three to regain the lead in the sixth.
Although El Paso Pebble Hills evened the score at 9-9 in the top of the seventh with an RBI single from Deal, Baer made the game-winning play on Permian’s next turn at bat.
Facing two outs, Baer’s groundball to first resulted in an error that drove in Hayden Abbott to seal the victory for the Panthers.
Criswell said he wants his team to make routine defensive plays to avoid having showings like the fifth inning.
“It is what it is, they did a good job responding offensively,” Criswell said. “I’m proud of them, I’m not proud of the way we played in that one inning, but I’m proud of them.”
Over the past few weeks, the Panthers have fought back in close games and haven’t been able to come away with a victory.
Baer added that it felt like the team got past that hump.
“We hit a rough spot,” Baer said. “We just got to get over it.”
The Panthers (24-9 overall) and Spartans (19-10) will continue their bi-district round series at 11 a.m. Saturday at El Paso Socorro High School, with Game 3 taking place at 2 p.m. if necessary.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
