The Pampa Harvesters (5-3) struggled at the Levelland Tournament, coming back with a lone win. That lone win, however, was a victory over Bushland. The first in program history.
“We knew going into the tournament we would be seeing good teams, good competition and better teams than we had seen so far,” Head Coach Austin Samulowitz said.
“We got to work on a lot of things that we’re lacking in. That was a positive. We got a big win against Bushland, which is good for our confidence going forward.”
Bushland was a long-time rival of the Harvesters while they shared a District for much of the late 2010s. The pair even met in the playoffs at times with the Falcons sending the Harvesters packing.
But, as the saying goes, iron sharpens iron and the win shows growth for the Harvesters as a program after seeing the old 5A district twice a year in District play.
“My first six years, [Bushland was] in our district and every year playing them they seemed to get the better of us,” Samulowitz said.
“The fact we were able to play against them and beat them, is a testament to our kids and how far we’ve come. You play the Canyon schools and the old 5A district, we’re not afraid of Bushland anymore. That’s a big piece of us growing as a program. We’re not afraid of who’s on the other side of us.”
In the win, the senior we are spotlighting in this article, Isaiah Anguiano, pitched well and continues to rank near the top of 4A pitching with 23 strikeouts.
“Isaiah Anguiano pitched really well against Bushland,” Samulowitz said.
“He told me before the tournament he wanted to pitch against them. So that told me he had the confidence going in to throw against them. It all starts on the mound. If you pitch well, you have a chance to win. If you don’t, you’re going to have a hard time winning any ball games. He pitched well.”
While his performance on the mound is what’s recorded in the statbook, it’s Anguiano’s attitude in the dugout that Samulowitz said makes him a pivotal player for the Harvesters.
“Isaiah doesn’t take anything too harsh. He does a good job in rolling with the punches,” Samulowitz said. “Doesn’t get too far up, or too far down. He shows up to practice with a smile every day and is ready to go. He brings a lighter mood to the team that we need as we look to District.
Junior Maxwell Neff added a home run in the first game of the tournament as the Harvesters continued to show flashes throughout the tournament despite the scoreboard.
“Maxwell (Neff) had a good tournament behind the plate,” Samulowitz said.
“Judsen Hancock played really well at shortstop and hit the ball well. Boston Botello is mashing the ball well and played great in the outfield. Estrada pitched well and closed the game against Bushland and then started against New Home.”
The Harvesters will look to correct some of their mistakes from this past weekend as they head to Bowie for the Walker Stallcup Tournament.
“We play Decatur and Bowie on Thursday in a double-header and then Friday we play Grand Saline out of East Texas and Henrietta right after that in another double-header,” Samulowitz said. “No easy wins this weekend. We are really looking to fix some of the things we didn’t do well in the first tournament.”
Loss to Lubbock-Estacado 9-2
Junior Max Neff went 1-3 with two RBI and a run-scored and a home run; Junior Boston Botello went 1-2; Senior Isaiah Anguiano drew a walk; Senior Judsen Hancock went 1-2; Senior Isaiah Estrada drew a walk and had a run scored.
Junior Greyson Paronto pitched two innings with three hits, two runs scored, two earned runs, one strike out and three walks.
Sophomore Jaime Soto pitched three innings with eight hits, six runs scored, six earned runs, five strikeouts and seven walks.
Win over Bushland 12-7
Neff went 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI; Botello went 2-4 with two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored; I. Anguiano went 1-2 with a run scored, two walks and two stolen bases; Senior Brooks Barton went 1-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk; Hancock had two walks, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base; Senior Chace McLaughlin went 1-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base; Senior Noah Anguiano went 2-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk; Junior Jarren Hill went 1-2 with two runs scored, one RBI and two walks; Estrada went 1-2 with a run scored, two RBI and one walk.
Isaiah Anguiano pitched 4 innings with five hits, seven runs, two earned runs, six strikeouts and two walks; Estrada pitched one inning with one strikeout and one walk.
Loss to New Home 7-1
Neff went 1-3 with a run scored; Botello had a walk; I. Anguiano had two walks; Barton had a walk and an RBI; Junior Jack Dyer had one walk; and McLaughlin went 1-3.
Paronto pitched 1.2 innings with three hits, two runs, two earned runs and two strikeouts; Estrada pitched 3.1 innings with eight hits, five runs, four earned runs, three strikeouts with two walks.
Loss to Levelland 11-1
Botello went 1-3 with a run scored; I. Anguiano went 3-3 with a run scored and an RBI; Hall went 1-1 with two RBI; Hancock went 2-3 with a run scored and a stolen base; Estrada had a run scored and a stolen base.
Barton pitched 2.1 innings with three hits, 10 runs, two earned runs, a stolen base and 10 walks; McLaughlin pitched 1.2 innings with a run scored.
