Longhorns stay hot with M-O championship

Dover knocked off two ranked teams over the weekend to bring home the championship of the Mulhall- Orlando Invitational baseball tournament.

The Longhorns beat Class B’s 12th-ranked Mulhall- Orlando7-4inFriday’s semifinal, then earned the championship Saturday by downing Oklahoma Christian Academy 4-2.

The Eagles were ranked 12th in Class 2A.

Dover ended the week with a 9-5 overall record and was a winner in six of its last seven.

The lone loss in that stretch was a 5-2 setback to M-O at home last Tuesday.

After downing Carney 9-1 in Thursday’s quarterfi nal, the Longhorns got another crack at the Panthers.

Coach Pete Voth put junior right-hander Bryce Cockayne on the mound and he answered with 6 2/3 innings of winning work.

Cockayne gave up five hits and three earned runs while striking out eight batters.

He didn’t give up a run after the second inning, though M-O did get a twoout single and walk off of him in the seventh.

Voth called on Brennan Fletcher, who got a strikeout to end the game.

Dover got two runs in the first inning, one off an Ivan Ruiz single and an A.J. Avila fielder’s choice.

However, the Panthers got one back in the bottom half and added three more in the second.

But Dover struck it big in the fourth.

The Longhorns loaded the bases, which led to RBI singles from Jonah Pendergraft and Casen Buck to tie the game.

Avila’s single pushed two more runs across for a 6-4 lead the Longhorns didn’t lose.

Avila finished with 3 RBIs.

Cockayne and Buck had two hits apiece. Buck scored twice, as did Pendergraft.

Saturday was a bit of deja vu in that the starter went 6 2/3 innings before Fletcher ended the game with a strikeout for the save.

In this case, the starter was Buck, who scattered five hits and two earned runs.

He also struck out eight batters.

In the semifinal and final, Dover was able to work around 11 combined walked batters as well.

OCA had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth. Dover was able to load the bases with one out when Fletcher hit into a fielder’s choice on a play that saw two runs cross home plate.

Pendergraft added to the total in the fifth when he was hit by a pitch, advanced to third and eventually stole home.

Dover won despite collecting just three hits - one each by Buck, Valles and Servando Herrera.