Both homers, coming in his first and last at-bats at Gabe Nesbitt Field, were two-run shots that Salmon predicted. Both long balls were crushed into the wind to left field.

By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer
Tyler Morning Telegraph

"I was just playing around and said I was going to lead off with a home run, and then right before my last at-bat, I told coach (Doug) Wren, 'I'm going to end it with a bang.' I put a pretty good swing on two baseballs and it just did its thing," said Salmon, a former Harleton standout who now has seven home runs and 58 RBIs on the season.

Salmon's second home run came in the top of the ninth, as the fourth-seeded Apaches (41-12) were the visiting team against No. 1 seed Eastfield (31-17).

Seeds aside -- TJC is No. 4 because it no longer plays in the Metro Athletic Conference -- this game was considered a matchup of likely the two best teams in the tournament.

The Apaches outclassed Eastfield early as they jumped to an 8-2 lead after four innings against the Harvesters' No. 1 pitcher. However, TJC ace Derek Bowen didn't have his best stuff, either, and Eastfield rallied for an 8-8 tie in the sixth.

"We were real confident," Salmon said of leading by six runs. "Everybody was up cheering on our teammates and (then) we got kind of flat and that's when we let them sneak back in. But our bullpen came in and did a really good job."

Derek Miller, a freshman from Robert E. Lee, relieved Bowen with two outs in the fifth and earned the win. Miller allowed one run in 3 1-3 innings and struck out four.

Miller also had a key pickoff of Ryan Morrow at second base after Morrow had reached scoring position with an infield single and a TJC throwing error leading off the eighth. Miller retired the next two batters in order, and closer Jason Jester pitched a perfect ninth with a four-run cushion.

The Apaches snapped the 8-8 tie in the eighth when Salmon scored on a passed ball on a swinging strike. Salmon had reached on a one-out single to left and moved to third on Clayton Warren's double. Max Freeman came through with an RBI single with two outs to make it 10-8.

Freeman, a left-hander, jacked a solo home run to right field in the second inning and finished the game 3 for 5.

The Apaches move on to face defending district champion Richland today at 3 p.m. in the winner's bracket. The Thunderducks opened the four-team baseball tournament with an 11-7 win over Cedar Valley.

Eastfield and Cedar Valley will meet in an elimination game today at noon, with the winner playing at 6 p.m. against the Tyler-Richland loser.

The finals are Sunday. The champion will advance to the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler on May 22-27.

Tyler 12, Eastfield 8

Tyler 213 200 022 -- 12 17 2

Eastfield 110 051 000 -- 8 11 2

Derek Bowen, Derek Miller (5), Jason Jester (9) and Cole Lehmann. Chris Blackmon, Boomer Miller (4), Aaron Brewer (8) and Dillon Smith. W - D. Miller; L - B. Miller. 2B - TJC: Eric Weiss, Josh Bates, Josh Salmon, Clayton Warren; EC: Austin Smith, Preston Morrow, Ryan Morrow, Rusty Collins. HR - TJC: Salmon 2 (one on, first inning; one on, ninth inning), Max Freeman (solo, second inning); EC: Justin Tyra (solo, sixth inning). SB - TJC: Weiss.

RECORDS - Tyler 41-12; Eastfield 31-17.

NEXT UP - Tyler vs. Richland, 3 p.m. today; Eastfield vs. Cedar Valley, noon today.

Link to Original Article:  http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100508/SPORTS06/5080319