The Lockney Longhorns celebrate their win over the Gruver Greyhounds on Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Cervantes Photography/Used with Permission)
AMARILLO – Teams that advance to the third round of the UIL playoffs in any sport usually have persevered through adversity, has a strong team chemistry, talent and depth. This describes the Lockney Longhorns as they collide in a Regional 1-2A quarterfinal series with the Clarendon Broncos.
Lockney (19-7) is the No. 3 seed from District 3-2A while Clarendon (20-5) is the District 2-2A Champion. This is the deepest the Longhorns have advanced in the baseball playoffs since Lockney played in the Regional semifinals in 2016.
This will be the second time the Longhorns and Broncos have met on the diamond
this season. Lockney won 4-3 with a walk-off single by Austin Rodriguez on February 28.
“The Horns came back from a 3-1 deficit going into the 7th inning. It was a great comeback against a good Clarendon team,” Lockney Coach Payton Rhodes said at the time.
He also added that the team was coming together at “The right time of the season. They have stuck to the process and have constantly improved,” Rhodes said, calling the team resilient.
Lockney has had an interesting and exciting playoff run through the Bi-District and Area rounds. The Longhorns edged Ropes in bi-district then won a thriller over Gruver in area.
“In the opening games, we don’t know the teams and our nerves don’t settle down until around the
middle of the game. In the second game, we have played much looser and with more confidence. We
realize we can compete with the opponent, and start to be more aggressive,” Rhodes explained about the Longhorns playoff performances.
Game 1 for the series will be at noon Friday at Amarillo High School’s baseball field at 5300 Winkler Drive off Bell Street. Game 2 will also be at noon on Saturday; with Game 3 to follow if needed.
PITCHERS
(Lockney)
Dyllan Thiebaud 8-2
Josh Jimenez 5-1
Austin Rodriguez 3-0
Pabloc Morales 3-2
(Clarendon)
Brock Hatley 6-3
Harrison Howard 6-2
Aiden Caudle 4-0
Tyler Harper 2-0
Jared Musick 2-0
LOCKNEY TEAM STATS
season batting avg: .347
season homeruns: 9
season hit avg vs opponents: 10-5
season scoring avg: 11-6
playoff scoring avg: 11-3
playoff hit avg vs opponents: 11-4
LOCKNEY’S Defensive lineup
Dyllan Thiebaud Fresh Cat, P
Pablo Morales SR 1B, P
Damion Gonzales SR 2B
Austin Rodriguez SR SS, P, Cat, 3B
Josh Jimenez SR 3B, P
Nathan Cineceros SR LF
Xavier Jimenez Fresh CF
Morris Salas SR RF, SS
Malaki Alvis SR RF, 1B
Haygen Lefevre Fresh 1B
PLAYOFF JOURNEYS
(Lockney)
Bi-Dist: beat Ropes 7-6 (9), 13-1
Area: beat Gruver 8-6, 16-6
(Clarendon)
Bi-District: beat West Texas 12-0, 11-5
Area: beat Ralls 9-2, lost 12-7, won 14-4
