By Michael Sudhalter
Special to The News
HOUSTON — The Bridge City baseball team led Class 4A power Waco Robinson for most of Saturday’s 4A regional semifinal, but the Cardinals fell short in a one-game playoff on Saturday night at the University of Houston’s Schroeder Park.
The Cardinals (24-10-1) led 5-4 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, but a pair of errors put Rockets runners on second and third base, respectively. Robinson’s Tanner James capitalized by hitting a walk-off two-RBI single for a 6-5 victory.
Robinson (27-3) will face Little Cypress-Mauriceville, a 5-4 winner over Jasper, in the regional championship later this week.
Bridge City head coach Chad Landry said he was proud of his team — including 12 seniors — and he told them so after the disheartening one-run loss.
“We were right there,” Landry said. “We can’t look at any one single point in the game and try to dissect it. Overall, Robinson got it done when they needed to.”
The Cardinals opened a 2-0 lead in the first inning after third baseman Tod McDowell, a Lamar commit, hit a two-run home run.
Bridge City extended that lead to 3-0 in the first, with left fielder Kevin Gordon’s RBI single.
Robinson bounced back to tie the game at 3 with James’ RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Tanner Doiron, the starting pitcher who went three innings and had a no-decision, belted a two RBI double in the fifth to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. Doiron is headed to Alvin Community College next season.
Bridge City reached the regional semifinals for the first time in four years and captured their 25th district championship in school history this season. They were eliminated by Robinson in 2012 as well.
The regional semifinals were supposed to be a series, but Mother Nature had other ideas, and the teams agreed on a one-game showdown.
Saturday’s game marked the second matchup this season between the Cardinals and Rockets. Robinson edged Bridge City, 4-3, on Feb. 26 in the Cameron Yoe Tournament.