By Cade Haak
SHERMAN, Texas (July 6, 2024) – The Texarkana Rhinos were down 10-0 going into the top of the fifth inning, but the Rhinos offense rallied through the second half of the game to score 19 runs and win 19-17 in the end.
The Shadowcats offense was clicking early in the Saturday night matchup, as they were able to score 10 runs in the first four innings while not allowing the Rhinos to score a single run to that point. The first run of the game came in the top of the fifth for Texarkana, and that inning became the catalyst for their success.
After scoring the single run in the fifth, the Rhinos then built on this offense by adding three more in the sixth. The highlight of the sixth inning was a double by Christian Rosales that got past the left fielder and scored two runs for Texarkana.
After gaining some momentum in the previous two innings, the Rhinos offense reached its climax in the seventh inning. Going into the seventh inning, the Rhinos trailed 4-11, but they used this inning to put the game in their favor for the first time. Sloane Laird got the first two RBIs of the inning when he hit a single into left field to score Gabriel Natividad and Rylan Evans. Later in the inning, two more runs were scored by the Rhinos when Kyle Dekerf was walked with the bases loaded and Christian Rosales was hit by a pitch to bring in a run as well. Ian Guanzon then made his way to the plate with the bases still loaded and hit a grand slam, clearing the bases and taking Sherman’s lead away in the process.
Sherman was able to tie the game back up at 12 runs each in the bottom of the seventh, but another inning where Texarkana showed off their offensive capabilities gave them a six-run lead. The eighth-inning scoring frenzy began for the Rhinos when Kyle Dekerf singled to score Jackson Glymph. A similar single from Christian Rosales directly after brought in Sloane Laird for the second run of the inning. The next two runs both came due to walks with the bases loaded to bring the total up to four runs on the inning, and then the final two runs of the eighth were added by Rylan Evans, who singled to left field to score two of his teammates and put the Rhinos up 18-12.
In the ninth inning, the Rhinos scored a single run when Sloane Laird was driven in on a double by Sota Suzuki for their final run of the game. Sherman then came up to the plate for the final half inning of the game and did damage against Texarkana as they attempted to claw their way back into the game but fell short in the end as they brought across five runs to lose 19-17.
Yuto Mimura, who came in as relief for the Rhinos starting pitcher Mason Sellers, is credited with the win due to the Rhinos bats coming alive during his time on the mound. Shadowcats starter Jacob Broussard pitched five innings and set himself up for success, but their bullpen faltered after coming in to relieve him and allowed the Rhinos to complete the giant comeback to build on their series lead.
