Jacksboro baseball earns second comeback win to take series over Shallowater

ABILENE — Jacksboro baseball coach Blake Belcher had all the confidence in the world in Wyatt Gavit.

Despite not pitching this postseason, the sophomore had experience after being thrust into the rotation because of injuries last year. Even through an hour-plus-long lightning delay, Gavit showed why Belcher had such faith.

Gavit allowed one earned run in a four-hit complete game as the Tigers came back to beat Shallowater 4-2 in Game 3 of their Region I-3A semifinal series Saturday at Walt Driggers Field. It was the second consecutive game Jacksboro overcame a late deficit to win.

The Tigers are now on to their first regional final, where they'll meet Brock.

Wyatt Gavit finishes despite delay

The Mustangs did their damage in the opening inning, scoring on Gerrit Boschma's double and a balk. Gavit was near-untouchable after, allowing only two runners to reach second base.

Gavit heaped praise on his defense, but he also notched nine strikeouts. He totaled one walk.

The sophomore found out after Thursday's Game 2 that he would get the nod. Gavit said he did his best not to overthink it, describing himself as "pumped and a little nervous."

GAME 2: Lando Belcher comes in clutch to help Jacksboro force Game 3

"We knew he could do it," Belcher said. "He's pitched enough. He's been our long-relief guy throughout the year, but he's a fighter. He's one of those guys that just goes right after hitters, so I felt good about it. But you never know, when a guy hasn't pitched in a while. That performance was unbelievable."

Before Gavit threw the first pitch of the sixth inning, the game went into a lightning delay. The right-hander finished the job after the 1 hour, 13-minute pause.

"I was heading to the bus, and my pitching coach, Coach (Todd) Hatton, he called me into the dugout and I just sat in the dugout by myself," Gavit said. "Every five to 10 minutes I'd go out and use bands, use the heavy ball to throw at the wall. I eventually played catch with his son. That really helped me get through there."

Bad case of deja vu for Shallowater

The Mustangs won the series opener 7-6 on Wednesday. Jacksboro made things interesting by scoring the game's final five runs, including three in the final frame.

Game 2 had a similar feel, with the Tigers plating five in the seventh to overcome a one-run deficit and win 7-5. Jacksboro trailed 2-0 in the finale before a four-run fifth. The Tigers notched their first four hits in the inning, including doubles by Kaleem Howard and Gavit.

Shallowater coach Ben Huffman admitted the situation had a small sense of deja vu.

"A little bit, but at the end of the day every baseball game's different," Huffman said. "Hats off to (Jacksboro). They were putting barrels on it in that inning, and we couldn't get it stopped quick enough."

Jacksboro baseball makes history

The Tigers are on a historic run following consecutive second-round exits. Belcher said it was a possibility as long as Jacksboro nabbed a top-three seed. The Tigers finished third in district and dispatched runner-up Iowa Park in the region quarterfinals.

Now Jacksboro gets its shot at the Eagles, who have won the region two of the past three seasons.

"Our district is so good," Belcher said. "… The (No.) 4 hole, we knew we'd have to play Brock in the first round. And we would much rather play them in the regional finals than in bi-district. We wanted to get in as one of those top three seeds and then make our run. That's what they've been able to do."

It was the fourth consecutive trip to the region semifinals for Shallowater, which reached the region final in 2021. The Mustangs won the outright District 2-3A title over fellow region semifinalist Lubbock-Cooper Liberty and Idalou, which fell to the Patriots in the third round.

With as much as the team lost from last year's run, Huffman couldn't help but compliment the group.

"We graduated quite a bit of talent last year," Huffman said, "and I don't think anybody thought we'd get back to this stage like we did. I'm just super proud of these dudes coming out and competing every day and getting us a chance to be this far."

REGION I-3A SEMIFINAL

GAME 3

Jacksboro 4, Shallowater 2

Shallowater 200 000 0 — 2 4 2

Jacksboro 000 040 x — 4 5 2

Wyatt Gavit. Hutson Briseno, Kale Moore (3), Maddox McDonald (5) and Cameron Swanson (6). W — Gavit. L — Moore. 2B — Shallowater, Maddox, Gerrit Boschma. Jacksboro, Kaleem Howard, Gavit.

Records: Shallowater 28-9; Jacksboro 30-8-1.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Wyatt Gavit hurls Jacksboro baseball past Shallowater in Game 3