It’s a bit over a 100-mile round trip from Mineola to Mt. Pleasant. Those who made the trip were rewarded with an excellent example of playoff baseball. The Yellowjackets recorded a spectacular game one Friday, suffered through an abysmal game two on Saturday morning and came back strong in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader to take a 3A bidistrict title from the Hooks Hornets.

Next up is Shite Oak Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mike Cater Field in Tyler for a one-game area playoff.

Mineola opened the series by leveraging quality pitching, solid defense and aggressive baserunning to take game one, 3-1. Spencer Joyner turned in yet another quality start. He tossed seven innings, gave up four hits and one free pass and struck-out three.   

Joyner was just unshakeable throughout the seven innings. His placement was spot-on, and he kept the Hornets off balance much of the night.

Hooks did make contact with the ball, as one would expect from a district championship team, but the Jackets fielded a taut defense. 

In the second, Braydon Alley gunned down a Hornet trying to stretch a single into a double. The play ended the inning. 

In the bottom of the third, centerfielder J.J. Gandy made one of the toughest catches in baseball. Hook’s Logan Davis crushed a ball to dead-away centerfield. Gandy turned and started sprinting for the fence, looking back to the ball over his right shoulder. While yet on the run he extended and managed to cradle the ball just before reaching the fence.

Two innings later, Jacket catcher Matthew Ballew nailed a Hornet on a steal attempt at second base with a perfect throw. 

Of the six total Hornet baserunners, three were put out on the basepaths.

Mineola put up their three runs in the top of the fourth. Ty Burch beat out an infield single on a ball hit to the right side. Joyner sacrificed him to second. Burch advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a second passed ball moments later. 

With two away, Alley rifled a double to right-centerfield. Kaden Bell followed him to the plate and lined a double into centerfield. Alley made a great head-first slide at home to just reach his hand under the tag. 

Hamlin followed and laid down a well-placed bunt down the third baseline. It caught the Hornets off guard. A throwing error on the play allowed Bell to cross the plate. Mineola had their three runs. 

Hooks managed to avoid a shutout in the bottom of the seventh. After drawing the only base-on-balls given up by Joyner, they scored on a two-out single down the left-field line. Joyner dispatched the next hitter with a swinging strike-out for the win. 

Game two was a 10 a.m. first pitch on a day which reached over 90 degrees and in moisture-laden air. When the announcer introduced Mineola’s starting line-up using the line-up card from Friday night, it indicated that something was amiss. 

There were other indicators that the Jackets were off their game on Saturday morning.

An early drive which Hooks banged off the outfield fence caused only one of three Mineola outfielders to move. Later, a high pop-up between home and the mound fell between two Jackets and rolled foul. A throwing error gifted Hooks their first run; another would give the Hornets an unearned run in the fourth. 

In possibly one of the lowest marks for the Jackets all season, Hooks successfully laid down three consecutive bunts in their five-run sixth – two of which resulted in scores. 

The Jackets went down in game two, 9-2. 

But Mineola was not deterred.

Cason Davis threw six and one third innings spreading seven hits. Joyner came on and retired the last two batters in six pitches. The Jackets scored in four of the seven innings. 

While each team generated seven base hits; it was Mineola that made those hits count. They secured the bi-district title with an 8-3 win. 

Rallying to capture a title in the second game of a doubleheader reveals much about a team, especially when it came following a less than optimal performance in game two. 

Of specific note was the resurgence of Braydon Alley at the plate. Alley drew three walks in game three, but went 4-5 at the plate in games one and two, including two doubles and a solo home run. 

The Jackets have reasserted themselves in this post-season. The White Oak seriesshould be a marvel to watch.