Creek offense rebounds to clobber Fort Bend Austin

LEAGUE CITY — When the Wildcats didn’t see Fort Bend Austin ace A.J. Glasshof on the mound in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Thursday, they were admittedly thrown off.

They had prepared to face the southpaw all week and were surprised he did not start, Creek, one of the best offenses in the region, managed just one run.

But when Glasshof took the mound in Game 2 on Friday, the Wildcats offense pounced on him.

Every single Creek hitter reached base and eight more scored runs as the offense bounced back for a 13-3 clobbering of Austin in Game 2 to stave off elimination and even the best-of-three series at 1-1.

Creek and Austin will face off today in Alvin at 4 p.m. in a do-or-die Game 3.

“We were kind of taken a back when we didn’t see him out there in the first game,” Chris Morales, who went 3-for-3 said. “But we were ready tonight and knew what to expect.”

The Wildcats actually started the evening in a hole. Senior ace Bobby McCormack allowed three runs in the first inning on three hits and a pair of walks.

But the southpaw, much like his teammates, regained his form. He struck out the next four batters and six of the next 10 after the disastrous first.

“I think I always get better as the game goes on,” McCormack said.

Then the Creek offense ignited. It took advantage of three Austin defensive miscues for a five-run third inning, which turned the tide of the game.

C.J. McElroy and Zack Gibson both reached on errors. Brad Solliday and Chris Morales followed with back-to-back RBI singles.

Glashof managed to get two outs on strikeouts, but Dyllan McGregor blooped a seeing-eye double that scored two, including the tying and go-ahead run.

A perfectly executed double steal led to the final run of the inning.

“That’s baseball,” Creek coach Jim Mallory said. “One day you’re on; one day you’re not.”

McCormack continued to roll, too. He didn’t allow a single hit after the first as no Austin runner moved past second base for the rest of the game.

The Bulldogs struggled to catch up with McCormack’s fastball, which he located effectively. McCormack then went to his changeup — his third pitch — to keep Austin hitters off balance.

McCormack normally relies heavily on his curveball, which he struggled with in the first inning.

The Creek defense also came up big with two 6-4-3 double plays.

“The changeup really paid off tonight because my curveball wasn’t at its best,” McCormack said. “It kept those guys just off enough for my fastball to work.”

The Wildcats finally chased Glashoff in the fifth. Morales singled, while Brandon Martin and Brandon Speth both walked to load the bases. McElroy drew a walk for an RBI, and Gibson poked a two-run single. McElroy scored his second run of the game on another double steal.

Creek scored finished off the game with four in the sixth thanks to an error and another pass ball. Martin hit a two-RBI single.