WELLMANN FIRES ONE-HITTER; CUBS WIN 19/5A OPENER, 1-0
(file photo)
Blake Wellmann was one pitch away from a date in the history books, but settled for a complete game shutout in the Cubs’ district opener, a 1-0 win over Tomball Memorial.
Wellmann was nearly flawless as he cruised through 6-and-2/3 innings of hitless pitching. But, with two outs in the seventh, Wildcat shortstop Gavin Shukanes ripped a solid double into the right centerfield gap for Memorial’s lone hit of the night.
With the tying run now in scoring position, Wellmann got pinch hitter Jace Robinson to pop out to first base to end the game.
Tomball Memorial (5-8/0-1) pitcher Austin Kelly was nearly Wellmann’s equal, limiting the Cubs (8-4/1-0) to one run on four hits.
The Cubs’ lone run came in the top of the second, when Sam McElreath doubled, then later scored on Blake Paschal’s two-out single.
Wellmann finished the night with eight strikeouts, while limiting the Wildcats to just four baserunners—one hit, two walks and one reaching on an error.
“I was throwing all my pitches for strikes,” said Wellmann. “That’s important because I’ve got the best defense behind me.”
“My main goal was the win, and we got that. So, that (a no-hitter) didn’t even matter to me,” said Wellmann.
Coach Lanny Williams was ecstatic over Wellmann’s performance, “He did a phenomenal job. He was right where we needed him to be tonight. He was in command of all of his pitches—he was rockin’ and rollin’ and I’m very, very proud of him.”
Williams was happy to get out of Tomball with a district win, “We came to Tomball to win a district ballgame…not to have 14-15 hits and lose. I don’t care how many hits we had—the bottom line is the Cubs won and that’s all that matters to us.”
The Cubs are scheduled to host Magnolia West—weather permitting—Friday night at Firemen’s Park at 7:00, live on KWHI and www.kwhi.com.
BRENHAM CUBS (8-4/1-0) 1 TOMBALL MEMORIAL (5-8/0-1) 0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| CUBS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| MEMORIAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| CUBS | IP | #P | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Blake Wellmann (W, 3-2) | 7.0 | 87 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| MEMORIAL | IP | #P | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Austin Kelley (L) | 7.0 | 91 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
CUBS
Sam McElreath, 2-2, 2b, run
Blake Paschal, 1-3, rbi
Jacob Stegent, 1-3
MEMORIAL
Gavin Shukanes, 1-3, 2b
19/5A LAST NIGHT:
MAGNOLIA (1-0) 8 STRATFORD (0-1) 1
TOMBALL (1-0) 14 MAGNOLIA WEST (0-1) 0
WALLER (1-0) 6 SPRING WOODS (0-1) 2
FRIDAY
MAGNOLIA WEST @ CUBS, 7:00 (6:40 on KWHI & www.kwhi.com)
TOMBALL MEMORIAL @ SPRING WOODS
WALLER @ MAGNOLIA
STRATFORD @ MAGNOLIA WEST