The Newman Greenies weren’t about to let their season end without a fight, and they came out pounding the baseball early and often in Game 2 of their Division III Select championship series vs. University.
Scoring nine times in the first two innings, the second seed rolled on with their ace Christian Sauska on the hill, defeating the top-seeded Cubs, 13-6, on Friday at McMurry Park in Sulphur.
Combined with U High’s 4-2 victory in Game 1, a winner-take-all Game 3 is set for Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
On Friday, Newman (29-8) came out hot with four hits – three of them going for extra bases – in the first inning. Collier Villere knocked one in with a double, and Malcolm Schairer’s RBI triple made it 4-0.
The first five Greenies to come to the plate in the second all collected hits and scored off Cubs starter Brody Mayeaux.
Tanner Robert led off with a double, and Jack Falgoust doubled him in to up the lead to 5-0. Charles Wilson and Sauska followed with basehits, and Atticus LaFleur doubled in two and scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-0.
From there, while Sauska (10-1) didn’t have his best stuff, he clearly was good enough. He allowed 12 hits, including five combined in the third and fourth innings, as the Cubs got to within 9-4.
A four-run fifth, which included a three-run triple for Wilson, gave the Greenies breathing room once again. However, things got a little dicey one last time in the seventh, as Trey Sotile, Mackie Musgrove and Jaris Hamilton all reach on hits to chase Sauska.
Villere then came in relief, but Luke Mixon made it four straight hits for the Cubs (30-9) with a single, and an error at third got U High within 13-6 with no outs. After a strikeout, Camden Smith grounded into the second out, and Hamilton tried to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate to end the game.
With a win Saturday, Newman would win its first state title since 2003. University, meanwhile, is in the championship for the fourth time in five years and won it last in 2024.
Here are the line scores, top hitters and pitchers’ lines from Game 2:
LINESCORE
(1) University – 002 200 2 – 6 | 12 | 3
(2) Newman – 450 040 X – 13 | 12 | 2
BOX SCORE
University (30-9)
Shepherd Gammon (3B), 2-4, 2B, 2R, RBI
Trey Sotile (SS), 2-4, 2B, 2R, RBI
Mackie Musgrove (C), 1-4, RBI
Jaris Hamilton (CF), 1-4
Lane Mixon (2B), 4-4, RBI
Judah Zito (DH), 0-2, BB, HP
Camden Smith (1B), 0-3, BB, R
Max Mahaffey (RF, injured in fourth), 1-2
Ian McCauley (LF), 1-3, RBI
Newman (28-8)
Jack Falgoust (3B/SS), 2-4, 2 2B, 3R, RBI
Charles Wilson (C), 2-4, 2B, 3RBIs
Christian Sauska (P/3B), 1-4, RBI
Atticus LaFleur (2B), 2-4, 2R, 2RBIs
Collier Villere (SS/P), 1-4, 2B, R, RBI
Malcolm Schairer (RF), 2-4, 3B, R, RBI
George Loop (CF), 1-4
Benjamin Singer (DH), 0-1, BB, R, RBI
Tanner Robert (LF), 1-2, 2B, HP, 2R
DECIDING PITCHERS
WIN: Christian Sauska (10-1), 6+IP, 6R, 5ER, 12H, 1BB, 6K.
LOSS: Brody Mayeaux, 1.1IP, 9R, 8ER, 9H, 0BB, 1K.