TWO MORE!!
Dawgs move on to 3A state finals
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S JOHN BRADLEY gets a hug and a few tears from his grandmother Mary Jane Hancock, who follows every game - sitting behind home plate with her stat book. Hancock has a long history with Jasper High School baseball. Her son Jeff Burrell played first base on the 1985 squad, Jasper's last team to advance to the state championship games. Bradley smacked the game-winning hit on a single to center, scoring Travis Reagan from third in the decisive 2-1 victory over Bridge City.

Freshman third baseman Parker Phillips made the tag of the year Saturday in Beaumont.

Phillips took a throw from shortstop Travis Reagan for the final putout in the seventh inning of game three in the Region III Class 3A finals Saturday, advancing the Bulldogs to the state semifinals today at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

It was close but we pulled it out," DH Malcolm Bronson said. "I feel so good I don't know what to do. I had faith the whole time. When John hit and Travis came in, I knew we would win it."

Jasper's last shot at a state title was 1985 in Class 4A.

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER CATCHER Blake Weller-Alexander offers words of encouragement to freshman third baseman Parker Phillips before the final showdown with Bridge City. Phillips took a throw from short stop Travis Reagan and tagged Troy Bolton for the final out in Jasper's 2-1 victory.

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Travis Reagan doubled to left field, setting up the final Jasper run. Justin Parsons moved Reagan to third on a ground out and Blake Weller-Alexander was hit by a pitch.

With two outs and two runners on base, John Bradley smacked the gamewinning hit with a single to center, giving Jasper the 2-1 go ahead run

"We told the guys to get us one run and JP would take care of the rest," said assistant coach Steve Smith, referring to pitcher Justin Parsons.

Parsons threw a complete game plus three innings the day before. The left-hander allowed only one run on five hits and struck out four batters with two walks. He threw 56 strikes out of 86 pitches.

"It was a blast," Parsons said. " It was what we wanted from the beginning. Sometimes it was hard to get the outs with two and three runners on base and I couldn't do it without our defense behind me. The defense did a great job."

Bridge City threatened in the top of the seventh when Troy Bolton doubled with a runner on first. Bradley fielded the ball to Reagan who threw to Phillips on third for the tag, giving Jasper the 2-1 victory.

"It is exciting to know we are going to state," catcher Blake Weller- Alexander said. "Our district really helped us. They put pressure on us. It helped to play tough teams. We also had great fans. I want to thank the fans for their support."

Jasper will play Abilene Wylie at 7 p.m. today at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Wylie Bulldogs are the winners of Region I with a record of 33-3-1. Jasper's record through the regional finals is 31-7.

The winner will then meet the winner of the Region II-IV semifinal match between Sinton (29- 5-1) and Texarkana Liberty- Eylau (30-5) for the state final at 7p.m. Thursday.

Jasper found themselves in a must-win situation Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium. With an 8-6 win in game one followed by an 8-6 loss in the second game, they had to get past the Cards in order to advance to the UIL state championship games.

The series had not been a cakewalk. Game one was a come-from-behind win.

Bridge City took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against starting pitcher Travis Reagan.

Chantz Pryor singled in the second; then stole second and third. Pryor then scored on an overthrow to first by pitcher Jeff Stringer. Bridge City scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning, giving them a 5-1 lead. But the Dogs weren't finished.

Aaron Stephenson came to the mound in the bottom of the third inning and it was a new ballgame.

Jasper rallied in the fourth when leadoff hitter John Bradley singled and then went to second on a wild pitch by Stringer.

Taylor Hart drew a walk and DH Malcolm Bronson ripped a two-run triple to right field, scoring Bradley and Hart. Reagan singled in Bronson from third and Justin Parsons advanced to first on a dropped third strike and another throwing error by Bridge City. Pryor then hit a two-run single and the Dogs tied the Cardinals 6-6.

Jasper scored two additional runs in the fifth. Bradley led off again with another single followed by a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Stephenson. Hart hit and was safe on first on another Cardinal throwing error. Bradley scored and Bronson hit an RBI single, scoring Hart and giving the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead.

Stephenson struck out three of seven batters in the last two innings and threw nine total strikeouts. Jasper scored eight runs on nine hits and committed an unusual two errors. Bridge City had six runs on nine hits and three errors.

It looked like Jasper was on a roll when they jumped out with a 3-0 lead in the third inning of game two with Ryan Ellis on the mound, but the Cardinals answered with four runs in the fourth.

Parsons took over the mound in the fifth inning to pitch out of some tough innings, but the Cardinal bats were still alive, producing a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

The Dogs put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cardinals came back with two more in the top of the seventh. Jasper rallied in the bottom of the seventh with an additional two runs but could not pull out the win, ending the game with an 8-6 loss.

Bridge City scored 8 runs on 8 hits and committed three errors; Jasper had 6 runs on five hits with one error.

For the series, Travis Reagan had six hits, two runs and two RBIs; Taylor Hart, three hits, three runs; Chantz Pryor, three hits, two runs, two RBIs; Malcolm Bronson, one hit, two runs, two RBIs; John Bradley, three hits, two runs, one RBI; Justin Parsons, one hit, two runs; Robert Shellhammer, one hit, one run; and Blake Weller-Alexander, one hit and one RBI.