Wall Hawks Flatten Blanco to Claim a Bi-District Championship

BROWNWOOD, TX — The Wall Hawks took care of business in the opening round of the playoffs against Blanco in Brownwood on Wednesday. The Hawks swept the doubleheader 12-1 and 3-0 to claim a Bi-District Championship.

Game 1 - Wall 12 Blanco 1

Offensive fireworks coupled with a solid outing from Reid Ballard and Kyler Oneal gave Wall an easy run-rule victory in Game 1 against Blanco. The Hawks jumped out to an early lead thanks to a double from Jacob Braden that scored Hagyn Barbee. Later in the top of the 1st inning, Wall added another run. This time, Jacob Braden scored on a passed ball to give Wall a 2-0 lead.

Wall never looked back after that. The Hawks added two more in the top of the 2nd inning, one in the top of the 3rd and two more in the top of the 4th inning before Blanco even responded. The Panthers scored one run and an error in the infield, but never actually threatened to overtake the red-hot Wall Hawks.

Wall's offense continued to pound away, scoring five more runs before the umpires called a run rule victory for the Hawks after the bottom of the 6th.

Jacob Braden received the win for his performance on the mound. Braden pitched four innings, allowed three hits, one earned run, three walks and struck out three more before Kyler Oneal took over. Oneal struck out two in two innings of work, allowing zero hits and zero runs.

Game 2 - Wall 3 Blanco 0

Solid defense and an absolute gem on the mound from Kellan Oliver gave the Wall Hawks the series sweep and the Bi-District Championship in Game 2.

Oliver racked up 12 strikeouts during his performance, pitching a complete game in the win. Oliver surrendered only six hits and allowed zero runs in the contest.

Wall scored all three of the Hawks' runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, but struggled offensively after that. Barbee jumped on the board first on a passed ball before Brady Neal scored on another passed ball two pitches later. The Panthers couldn't figure it out because one pitch later, Reid Ballard scored on a third passed ball to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead that would hold until the end of the game.

While not pretty on offense, the Hawks proved that they do not need red-hot bats to get the job done. The Hawks have plenty of arms in their bullpen and a solid enough defense to win close games. They will need that as the teams continue to get better and better throughout the defending champs' playoff run.

With the win, Wall advances to the Area Round, where they will face off with the winner between Breckenridge and Henrietta next weekend. The date, time, and location of that series are still to be determined.