Boerne pitcher Niko Gonzales shows tremendous extension on a pitch in the first game of the Hounds’ double-header with Poteet. Photo by Mike Reeder

The Boerne High School varsity baseball team swept a double-header against Poteet at Greyhound Field March 15 by scores of 10-0 and 7-1.

The Hounds improved to 11-7 on the season and snapped a four-game losing skid in the process. The four losses had all come at the New Braunfels Tournament March 8-10 after the Hounds had gotten off to a 9-3 start. A planned double-header in Boerne against Cuero March 13 got washed out by heavy rain, so the games against 3A Poteet represented the Hounds’ first chance to get back on the field.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Boerne baseball coach Chuck Foster said of the long delay between games.  “We missed some games we wanted to play, but we’d also played 16 games to that point, so the layoff gave us a chance to get our legs back.”

The twin killing also gives the Hounds some momentum heading into Friday’s district opener against Memorial at Edgewood ISD.  Game time is 7 p.m.

Boerne hitters practiced patience at the plate in the first game to take advantage of Poteet starting pitcher John Peter Perez, who walked four hitters and hit four more. Perez also fell victim to a shaky defense. Boerne scored three runs off a pair of missed pop-ups, another run off a passed ball, and another on a pickoff throw that got away from the Aggie third baseman.

Hound starter Brian Brademan didn’t have great command of his own pitches, but he mixed speeds well, wriggled out of several tight spots, and never gave up a big hit.  Lefty Niko Gonzales relieved Brademan in the fourth and kept the shutout intact. He also erased base runners in the fourth and fifth with a slick pickoff move to first. The Hounds scored their ten runs off just seven hits.  First baseman Josh Sepulveda executed a perfect hit-and-run in the second to put runners at the corners, and infielder San Lampe followed up with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead that quickly ballooned to four. Taylor Tomlin hit a leadoff double, and Matt Merrill slapped an RBI single in the fifth to fuel another big inning.

Foster was generally pleased with the win, although he would have liked to see his hitters show more pop at the plate.

“It was good to get a win after four losses,” Foster said. “Our guys did a good job of taking what their pitcher gave us, but I think we also had some good pitches to hit and didn’t take advantage.”

Foster was happier with the way his hitters performed in game two.  The Hounds banged out 10 hits and scored seven runs against junior Jaime Leal, the Aggies’ best pitcher.  Boerne plated five runs in the second and two more in the fourth before Poteet finally got on the board with a single run in the fifth. Tomlin went 3-for-3 and scored two runs to pace the Boerne attack.  Starting pitcher Steven Jackson went five innings and picked up the win before Sepulveda entered in the sixth to close out the game.

“We saw their best pitcher in that one,” Foster said, “and I thought we were swinging the bat a lot better. I think our hitting is starting to come around.”