Brooks Gay has put in solid start after solid start all season, and it was no different in the biggest start of his high school career.
The junior got Wylie baseball’s Region I-5A quarterfinal series against Canyon Randall off to a good start. He pitched a complete game, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts as Wylie won 9-1.
For his efforts, Gay earned 47 percent of the 3,547 votes to be named the Abilene Reporter-News Local Player of the Week for the week ending May 22.
It was the first time, the Bulldogs had reached the region quarterfinals in Class 5A and they won the series with a 17-7, five-inning win in Game 2. Wylie takes on Aledo in the region semifinals in a three-game series beginning Thursday in Cleburne.
This week’s Top Five
1. Aliyah Martinez, Cooper Softball
Martinez was a big part of the Lady Coogs’ Game 1 win against Aledo. She got on base and when she did, she came around to score. She was 2 for 3 with a walk and scored three runs. She hit a double and a triple and drove in a run in the 8-6 win.
2. Riley Hood, Wylie Baseball
Hood helped power the Bulldogs into the region semifinals. He went a combined 7 for 8 with a double, a triple and six RBIs — including a four-RBI effort in Game 1 — as Wylie swept Canyon Randall 9-1 and 17-7 in the Region I-5A quarterfinals.
3. J.T. Thompson, Wylie Baseball
Thompson was a force to be reckoned with in Game 2 against Canyon Randall. He went 3 for 4 with a double from the No. 2 spot in the lineup, drawing a walk and scoring a run. He finished with a game-high five RBIs as the Bulldogs won 17-7 in five innings.
4. Angelic Gonzalez, Cooper Softball
If runners were on base when Gonzalez came to the plate, they weren’t when she was done in Game 1 against Aledo. She went 2 for 2 with a walk and three RBIs. One of her hits went for a double in the Region I-5A semifinal opener.
5. Ruth Hill & Kaitlyn Strain, Abilene High Tennis
Hill and Strain picked up some state hardware in San Antonio. They rallied from an early 2-1 deficit in their Class 6A quarterfinal match to win 6-2, 6-2. They weren’t able to solve Round Rock High’s Ramitha Irrinki and DeCora Antoine, falling 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the semifinal to earn bronze medals.
Jordan Hofeditz covers Abilene high schools and colleges, Big Country schools and other local sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jhofeditz. If you appreciate locally drive news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
