Strykers honor state champs, defeat league-leaders

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The Woodlands Strykers honored The Woodlands High School baseball team’s Class 5A state championship prior to Tuesday’s game and then promptly went out and knocked off the Texas Collegiate League leaders Brazos Valley, 4-2, in the first of a two-game homestand with the Bombers.

The series finale begins at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Strykers Stadium on the campus of The Woodlands Christian Academy.

The Strykers scored single runs in each of the third, fifth, sixth and eighth innings while starting pitcher Will Hibbs (2-1) threw eight strong innings yielding just three hits while striking out five. He did not walk a batter and lowered his ERA to 3.37 for the summer season.

Conner Fikes (2-3, run) and Robert Heep (2-3, RBI) led the Strykers’ nine-hit attack.

The Bombers lost for just the second time this season in 17 games while the Strykers improved to 5-11.

The Strykers answered a Bombers run in the third inning when Santana singled home Zach Davis, who reached on a one-out walk. Davis stole second and moved to third on a grounder by Landon Merka.

They took the lead for good in the fifth inning when Fikes opened with a double and later scored on a Santana grounder.

The lead was extended to 3-1 in the fifth inning on consecutive singles from Daniel Homann, Heep and Davis.

The Bombers made it a 3-2 game with a run in the eighth, but the Strykers answered again in the bottom half of the inning when Heep delivered an RBI single scoring Brian Smith, who reached on an error.

Gandy Stubblefield pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out one, to pick up his third save of the season for the Strykers. Stubblefield has a 1.17 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched (11 K) this season.