Harvester Bees Swarm Way to District Title

Tournament Central Page

MESQUITE, Texas – During the semifinals, a swarm of bees made their way across the Dallas College Eastfield baseball diamond, sending people scurrying away. It was fittingly symbolic.

The Harvester Bees buzzed through the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District, beating Dallas College Richland, 13-3, in the championship Saturday.

Eastfield (45-11) will return to the NJCAA Division III World Series May 27-June 1 in Greeneville, Tennessee for a second straight year.

"It's a big opportunity," Harvester Bees sophomore right fielder Jayden Morgan said after hitting two solo home runs. "We went to the championship last year in Tennessee, and we plan on going back."

⚾️ @EastfieldBSB's Jayden Morgan talks about winning the @NJCAABaseball DIII South Central District Championship.#NJCAABaseball | #EastfieldHarvesterBees pic.twitter.com/mGkf0iUZQ5

— Dallas College Athletics (@DallasCollAth) May 13, 2023

Eastfield, which fell to Herkimer College in the national title game a year ago, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning after Manny Moore crushed a grand slam. That came after Kyson Snelson's one-out RBI single to right scored River Curs, who led off the inning with a triple.

Morgan hit his first homer to left-center in the third, pushing the lead to 6-0. Gus Witt's two-out RBI single to left in the fourth made it 7-0. The Bees added another run in the sixth when Cade Conway scored on a throwing error, following a double steal.

Richland (37-22) got on the board in the seventh when Taylor Hendrix drove in Jadon Fratus with a double to center. Hendrix scored on a throwing error after stealing third base to pull the Thunderducks within 8-2. Eastfield responded with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Curs belted a three-run shot to right-center, and Hunter O'Shea scored on a wild pitch. That made it 12-2.

Richland's Aaron Biediger crushed a solo home run to left in the eighth. It was his 18^th homer of the year. Morgan answered with his second solo shot in the bottom half of the inning for his ninth of the season.

"I came in today, and knew they were going to throw me a bunch of off-speed," said Morgan, who went 2-for-4 with a walk. "I just focused on really hitting the fastball today, and that was all."

Harvester Bees starter Kyle Sauvage (3-1) went 6.1 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one earned, and two walks, while fanning a season-high eight batters in the victory. Stephen Pena worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing a run on two hits and no walks.

Eastfield's pitchers held Richland to four runs over the two games the two teams met in the district.

"They did amazing," Morgan said of the pitching staff. "It's all we could ask for from them. They did great, and we came out with a great team win."

Moore was 2-for-4 with four RBI, two stolen bases and a walk. Curs was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Snelson went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases.

Eastfield stretched its winning streak to 13, winning its 45^th game for the second straight year.

"I think a lot of people doubted us," Morgan said. "But I think we're going to come through for our team and our community."