By Cade Haak
TEXARKANA, Texas (July 23, 2024) – Texarkana’s Very Own Vincent Chapman, “The Dancin’ Umpire,” came to town to help call the Rhinos game against Abilene. The game was a slow burn at first, but eventually it morphed into a battle between two high-powered offenses that ended with Abilene winning 14-9.
The first run was scored for Texarkana when Lane Epperson hit a single into center field to score Antonio Sabala. The Flying Bison responded shortly after by scoring two runs over the next three innings to take their first lead.
In the home half of the sixth, the Rhinos had the biggest inning of the game to that point by scoring five runs. The first of the five runs was scored when Neil Jansen was walked with the bases loaded. Alex DeLeon followed up the walk by hitting a shot that inched down the left field line, landed fairly, and cleared the bases. Following the DeLeon three-run double, DeLeon himself scored when Ian Guanzon lifted a ball into shallow left center field that found the grass and gave him an RBI single.
After this, Abilene stepped up their offense as they scored one run in the seventh, three runs in the eighth, and one more in the ninth. The Rhinos added a single run in the eighth that was good enough to keep the game tied.
After Abilene tied the game in the top of the ninth, the game made its way into extra innings, tied at 7 runs apiece. Abilene took advantage of the tenth inning and scored seven runs in the top of the frame before the RHinos got their chance to come back.
The Rhinos comeback efforts were highlighted by a two-RBI single off the bat of Ian Guanzon, but ultimately they could not do enough to complete the comeback and lost game one 14-7.
