Bushland splits playoff doubleheader with Wall, Game 3 scheduled for Saturday

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The Bushland Falcons won Game 1 and lost Game 2 against the Wall Hawks in their playoff series at Lubbock Cooper on Friday.

In Game 1, it was all Falcons.

Bushland scored four runs in the third inning, putting them out in front 6-0 thanks in part to some solid hitting from Dawson Jaco and Cannon Melbon (both doubled in the inning).

The Hawks struggled on the mound, giving up two runs on wild pitches and Wall couldn’t put things back together from there. Bushland cruised to an 11-2 victory.

In Game 2, it was a different story.

The game was close throughout, with Bushland holding a slim 2-1 lead from the second inning until the sixth. That’s when Wall’s bats finally woke up. A four-run inning gave the Hawks their first lead of the series and put Bushland in a significant hole with limited time to recover.

The Falcons were able to pull back within one run in the bottom half of the sixth, but two more runs in the final inning gave the Hawks a comfortable cushion as they were able to close it out and take the win, 7-4.

“Today’s over with and the only thing that matters is tomorrow.” Bushland head coach Joel Love said after Game 2. “The best team is probably going to win the series. That’s what it usually comes down to when you play a series... I feel like we’ll come back and be ready to go. Our kids are competitors, man.”

Game 2 had originally been scheduled for Saturday, but was moved up due to concern over weather conditions. Now, the two schools will prepare to face off on Saturday for a pivotal Game 3 in the hopes that the weather will not be a factor.

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