No. 5 Richland Walks Off Hot Brookhaven, 4-3

DALLAS – Nick Hockemeyer seized the moment, lifting the Thunderducks to a walk-off win Wednesday.

"All day the wind's been blowing in, so was trying to keep the ball low," Hockemeyer began. "He'd been coming in first pitch breakers a lot so I was ready for that one. I just had to adjust from there, and get the job done. I saw in, and I didn't see circle or anything … so I just kind of turned on it."

Dallas College Richland's 5-foot-9 freshman outfielder from Fort Wayne, Indiana, laced a 1-2 pitch up the middle with one out in the bottom of the ninth for a two-run, walk-off double as the No. 5 Thunderducks came from behind to beat scrappy Dallas College Brookhaven, 4-3, Wednesday in the first game of a Dallas Athletic Conference series.

"A big reason why I have him hitting third right now is because he handles off-speed really well," Richland second-year head coach Jimmy Brenneman said. "He's typically given us good at-bats consistently throughout the season. He got something he could drive there. He packs a pretty big punch for being a smaller guy in stature. He's a great competitor. I've never questioned his drive. He's going to give you everything he's got."

Hockemeyer, who is headed back home to play at Purdue University Fort Wayne next season, went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk as the Thunderducks captured their 30^th win of the season to pull into a tie for first place in the league with No. 2-ranked Dallas College Eastfield, which fell to Dallas College Cedar Valley, 17-11, Wednesday.

It was the 18^th double of the season for Hockemeyer, who bumped his average to .409 with 49 RBI and 63 hits. His 18 doubles are tied for fourth in the country, and his 49 RBI are sixth among National Junior College Athletic Association Division III leaders.

"All glory and praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," Hockemeyer said. "It's great to come out here with this family. A win is a win, and we're glad we came out with it."

Brookhaven, which knocked off then-No. 1 Dallas College Eastfield, 14-7 last week, scored a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to take a 3-2 lead after Ducks starter Jacob Smoot exited after the sixth, sitting on a 2-1 lead. Richland reliever Devin Jennings (3-2) closed the door in the ninth to secure the victory.

"He's a competitor," Hockemeyer said of Jennings. "He came in there throwing strikes, and that's what we needed."

Jennings went three innings, allowing two hits and two runs, one earned, and three walks, while fanning five in relief. Smoot worked the first six innings, giving up a run on four hits and three walks. Richland, whose team has centered around the top run-producing offense in the country, has fine-tuned its pitching game in recent weeks, using some stellar outings to add a different dimension to this ball club.

"I do think, as of late, our pitching's gotten a lot better," Richland second-year head coach Jimmy Brenneman said. "We did a lot of experimenting in the beginning of the season. But Devin, he's been one of the guys that's been pretty consistent for us all year."

Sophomore right fielder Kelton Phillips was 2-for-4 with a double, stolen base and a walk, and scored three runs, including the game winner. Shortstop Hernan Zamora also had two hits, and drove in a pair for the Thunderducks (30-12, 16-3 DAC).

"Our offense has been pretty much unstoppable the entire year," Brenneman said. "It seems like every now and then we have a game where we kind of get stymied. Their guy did a good job mixing it up, and throwing multiple pitches in the zone for strikes. Honestly, both teams could easily say they deserved to win today, but it went in our favor there towards the end. If you can find a way to get on base, you're going to keep yourself in the lineup."

The Thunderducks also cut down a runner at the plate to keep it a one-run game when the Bears (19-21, 10-9) started to string some offense together late.

Brookhaven swept back-to-back series with Cedar Valley and Dallas College Mountain View before picking up a Game 2 victory over Eastfield last week, and going toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Harvester Bees in a 10-9 loss in the series finale Saturday. The Bears had won their last three DAC series prior to last week's 2-1 three-game set that went Eastfield's way.

"Walking out of here with a W today is pretty good, just knowing how well Brookhaven has been playing lately," Brenneman said. "I told our guys before the game today, 'Hey, you're going to have to be locked in, focused because they're going to give you their best shot here.' They did, and we were able to hang in there long enough to pull out that W."

Game 2 in the series shifts to Brookhaven 12 p.m. Thursday.