That stretch of baseball weather from Thursday through Saturday of last week was sorely needed. Tourneys were played throughout East Texas, returning some normalcy to the pattern of events this spring.    

At Rains High School the Mineola Yellowjackets began their tournament play with an excellent game against the Canton Eagles. Canton defeated the Jackets 4-2, but the game was chock-full of great fundamental baseball, and the two talented teams relished the competition. 

For Mineola, Cason Davis drew the start and logged 5 1/3 innings before being spelled by Jack Heard. Davis struck out two, gave up six hits and issued three walks. His control and placement kept the Eagles off balance, and he pitched his way out of trouble twice. It was a solid start for the hurler.

The Jackets recorded the first run of the day in the top of the fourth. Riley Fowler beat out an infield hit, advanced to second on a Caleb Gant sacrifice, went to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Spencer Joyner single.  

Canton put two runners on in the bottom half, but a nice play deep in the hole by shortstop Joyner and a long throw snuffed out the Eagle rally. 

Mineola went down in order in fifth, and Canton pushed a tying run across in their half of the inning. The damage could have been worse, but two excellent plays by Joyner – spearing a hot liner at short and handling a ground ball on the opposite side of second base -- saved at least one run.

A first pitch single by Gant put a man aboard for the Jackets in the sixth. Gant looked to be stranded when, with two outs, Braydon Alley lifted a flyball to center. Providing a great example of fundamental baseball, Gant put his head down and ran the basepaths. The flyball tailed away slightly from the closing centerfielder, and with the wind blowing in from center, the ball hit the heel of the Canton outfielder’s mitt and was dropped. Gant scampered across to give Mineola a 2-1 lead.

Canton is a good team and put together a nice inning from the plate in the sixth. They used three solid singles and one free pass to put three runners across in the bottom of the sixth and secure the win.

The Jackets managed two baserunners in the top of the seventh on a Kaden Bell single and a free pass, but they died on base.     

Mineola rebounded in their second game of the tourney, ending a beautiful baseball day with a 4-1 win against Fairfield.

Mineola plated single runs in the odd innings while allowing just one to Fairfield in the fourth.

Fowler recorded three of Mineola’s nine hits and Gant two. Each drove in two runs.

Joyner threw a complete game, fanning four while scattering five hits.

Mineola was edged by Rains 5-4 Friday and came back to defeat Gilmer on Saturday 10-7.

Rains scored four in the first and Mineola four in the third. Rains got the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.