HOUSTON — Thanks to a masterful performance from Conner Kemp on the hill, Nederland was four outs away from upsetting Magnolia West in their 5A Regional Semifinal series opener. Instead the Mustangs left the University of Houston with a 2-1 win.
With two outs in the sixth, Kemp issued a walk to put the tying run on first. Moments later Zach Wall cleared the left field wall with his third home run of the season to put Mag West (29-5) on top.
LSU commit Connor Phillips improved to (12-3) after striking out nine in six and two-third innings of work. Robert Revels, who is scheduled to start game two, picked up a one-pitch save.
This marks the third time Nederland (22-12-2) has dropped a series playoff opener in 2019. The previous two times the Bulldogs were able to eliminate Galveston Ball and Port Neches-Groves. Game two is scheduled to start a 6:30 pm tomorrow at the University of Houston.