Tigers rally against Roosevelt to end losing streak

By Tyler Tyre

Slatonite Intern

The Slaton High baseball team lost to Shallowater last Tuesday 7-1, with Shallowater grinding out a victory over Slaton in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

It was a battle of two great pitching performances, as Slaton’s Gabe Flores and Shallowater’s Hayden VanderRoast both did not allow runs for the first three innings. The fourth inning saw the Tigers and Mustangs trade runs, and they were deadlocked at one after the inning.

Head coach Dilon Chancellor spoke about his pitchers performance after the game.

“Flores kept us in the ballgame tonight, we just have to find a way to string some runs together when our pitcher is having a strong game. They had a competitor on the mound tonight, we just have to find a way to match that mentality and go up and attack,” Chancellor said.

The Mustangs started to pull away in the fifth inning, as they got two runs across in the inning while holding the Tigers scoreless in the inning to take the lead 3-1. Neither team scored in the sixth, but Slaton struggled in the seventh and Shallowater was able to put the game away. Shallowater piled on four runs in the seventh and Slaton was not able to respond in the bottom half, dropping their second straight game in the process.

“That’s a top team in the state that we went up against tonight, and our guys kept the game at 3-1 going into the seventh. There’s not much more you can ask of them than that,” Chancellor said.

The Tigers struggles continued over the weekend, as they fell to Idalou 12-2 in their third straight loss. Slaton rebounded in a big way on Monday however, as the Tigers got a huge victory over Roosevelt, winning by a score of 15-0. The three games put the teams district record at 2-3 and kept the team in fifth place in district.

Chancellor acknowledged his teams struggles in district, but was confident in his belief that the team will turn things around this season.

“This district is competitive. Any team can beat the other on any given day. We just need to stay true to who we are. We have to do the little things right, and we are going to fight and scratch back in to this thing and we will be a competitor at the top of district when it’s all said and done,” Chancellor said.