Patriots-Brooks take two at 14u D1 Invite for Texas Season Opener

By Lary Bump

​CARROLLTON, TX– There are plenty of ways to win a baseball game.

The Dallas Patriots-Brooks went to extremes to win their two games at McInnish Sports Complex on Friday in the Texas Season Opener 14u D1 Invite.

They opened the tournament with 11 runs in the first inning on the way to a 17-2 victory over Dugout Glory. 

The Patriots’ bats cooled off on a clear, chilly night with temperatures in the 50s and a bright waxing gibbous moon high above the backstop. They had just one hit, a bunt single, in the final four innings against the Lubbock Heat.

The winning “hit” was a one-out, bases-loaded hit by pitch that gave Dallas a 4-3 win.

The Heat heard the critical pitch hit the bat, and wanted it called a foul ball. Patriots coach Sherrard Brooks said the pitch hit the batter’s arm first, which is what the plate umpire ruled.

“We just happened to get into position to do something (Saturday),” Brooks said. “We’ll take it.”

The 14u Patriots are part of one of the most successful organizations in the Metroplex, with age-group teams from 7 through 18. The Brooks team is one of five teams with two wins going into Saturday’s play in the 12-team D1 Invite. The others are the Dallas Tigers-Lyons, Dulins Dodgers Prime (Godwin) from Frisco, Dallas Texans-Nailey and Texas Bombers-Okon from Grand Prairie.

The field includes 11 Texas teams and the Twin City Captains-Red from Bossier City, LA.

In the night game, the Patriots took a 3-0 lead and had the bases loaded with one out in the second inning, but the Heat shut down the Dallas offense. In the end, three walks loaded the bases, then the next pitch forced in the run to end the game.

“We swung the bat really good the first game. We pitched really well. We just kept hitting. We kept finding gaps and hitting good pitches. That’s how you want to start the first game of the season,” Brooks said after Game 2.

“It got real cold quick. This game, we left a couple guys on base, but they had some pretty good arms. I really tip my hat to them because they pitched well. We hit a couple balls hard at people. I’m happy with what we’ve got.”

Until his team took the field, Brooks didn’t really know what he had.

“This is the first spring this team has been together. We had two or three different teams and we had to put them all together to make this team. We kind of played a little bit in the fall.

“I think are strength is going to be pitching. We’re missing three guys that are pretty good pitchers right now. I hope we hit like this the whole season.”

Brooks said the team will play in other tournaments close to home and might travel to out-of-town events.

“No need to take them to see the world if we’re not ready," he added.