Published: April 30, 2008 12:37 pm         

Win in district playoffs earns Bulldogs bi-district series berth

By Craig Holamon
sports@mineralwellsindex.com

EASTLAND — While winning a coin flip is a great thing to do when the state playoffs roll around, it’s always better to win on the diamond.

The Millsap Bulldogs baseball team found out how true that can be on Monday during a series of District 10-2A playoff games.

Millsap lost a pre-game coin toss before the Bulldogs took a 5-2 win over the Cisco Lobos and earned a playoff berth.

Millsap head baseball coach Brad Littlefield lost a pre-game coin toss that set the stage for Monday’s game against Cisco.

“I lost the coin toss but we won the game,” Littlefield said. “It was our 21st win. That’s a school record for wins. The most Millsap has ever won in a season is 20 games.”

Millsap lefty Tanner Riggs, 11-4, took the win on the mound over Cisco while freshman pitcher Zeb Littlefield, 0-1, took a 7-1 loss to Peaster in the afternoon’s second game.

Kyle Benton had two runs batted in in the win over Cisco while Houston Earnest and (Zeb) Littlefield had RBIs for the Bulldogs.

The win over the Lobos earned the Bulldogs a spot in the state playoffs before the loss to Peaster left Millsap in third place in the final district standings.

The Brock Eagles won the district championship and have a bye in the opening round of the playoffs.

Millsap is set to play the Olney High School Cubs in a bi-district series in Graham while Peaster is ready for a bi-district series against Alvord in Mineral Wells.

Littlefield said he feels good about his team’s chances against Olney.

“We should do pretty well against Olney. I really like our chances in the first game of the series,” the Millsap coach said.

Teams from Millsap, Cisco and Peaster ended the District 10-2A baseball race in a three-way tie for second place.

The three teams met on Monday in a series of district playoff games on Monday in Eastland that broke up the tie and sent Millsap and Peaster into the playoffs.

Cisco beat Millsap, 21-10, twice during the district race but the Lobos faced elimination after Monday’s loss.

Peaster took a win over Millsap in the second game of the afternoon and landed in second place.

The Millsap-Olney series is set to start on Friday at 8 p.m. in Graham. The second game and third game of the series, if needed, are scheduled on Saturday.

Peaster, 18-9, and Alvord, 12-10, are set to open bi-district play at 5 p.m. on Friday at Mineral Well’s Pratt Field.

The second game of the Peaster-Alvord series is set to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Pratt Field while the third game, if needed, will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday’s first game.

Alvord finished in third place in the District 9-2A baseball race while Olney ended up in second place.

The following is a game-by-game look at other playoff games of area interest:

Girls Softball

Millsap vs. Maypearl

The Millsap High School Lady Bulldogs softball team is set to open an area championship series against the Maypearl Lady Panthers on Friday at Euless Trinity High School.

Millsap, 20-7, finished the District 10-2A softball race in a first-place tie with the Brock Lady Eagles.

A coin flip sent Brock into the playoffs as the district's top seed and made Millsap a second-place team in terms of playoff seeding.

Friday’s series opener between Millsap and Maypearl is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The second game of the series starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The third game, if needed is set to begin 30 minutes after the end of Saturday's first game.

Eastland vs. Crawford

The Eastland Lady Mavericks, 23-8, finished in third place in the District 10-2A softball race and are set to play the Crawford High School Lady Pirates, 18-6, in an area title series in Stephenville.

Brock vs. Bruceville-Eddy

The Brock Lady Eagles, 19-7, are ready to play an area title series against Bruceville-Eddy, 13-9, on Friday and Saturday at Glen Rose High School.

Aledo vs. Sherman

The District 8-4A champion Aledo Lady Bearcats, 30-1, are set to play the Sherman Lady Bearcats, 20-12, in a home-and-home area title series on Friday and Saturday. Friday's series opener is scheduled at 7 p.m. in Sherman. Game-two of the Aledo-Sherman series is scheduled at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Aledo.

Varsity Boys

Wichita Falls Rider vs. Keller Fossil Ridge

Baseball teams from Wichita Falls Rider and Keller Fossil Ridge, 22-8, are set to meet in a Class 4A bi-district series on Friday and Saturday at Mineral Wells' Pratt Field.

Friday's series opener starts at 7 p.m.

The second game of the series is scheduled at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The third game of the series, if needed, is set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday's first game.

Crowley High School vs. Fort Worth Southwest

The Crowley Eagles, 16-8, finished in third place in District 8-4A play and are ready to play Fort Worth Southwest , 20-4, in a home-and-home bi-district series.

The series opener is set to start at 7 p.m. on Friday in Crowley.

The second game of the series is slated at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Worth’s Southwest High School.

Fort Worth South Hills vs. Cleburne High School

The Cleburne Yellow Jackets, 25-8, settled for second place in the District 8-4A baseball race and are ready to play the Fort Worth South Hills Hawks in a bi-district series.

The series opener is scheduled at 7 p.m. on Friday in Cleburne.

The second game of the series is set to start at noon on Saturday at Arlington Heights High School.

The Joshua Owls, 24-6, won the District 8-4A baseball championship and have a bye in the opening round of the playoffs.