Owen Thomas said he never had a chance to have an at-bat this season.
Even last season.
He simply waited for his time to come.
That happened Thursday in the Central Section Division I high school baseball quarterfinals for Bullard High when he hit a double to give the fourth-seeded Knights a 4-3 victory over No. 5Frontier.
“I don’t have blood blisters for anything.” said Thomas. “I’ve been in the cages working hard waiting to get a chance and I got it there.”
Thomas finished the job when he struck out two batters in the top of the seventh inning, including a strikeout to end the game.
The comeback came after Bullard trailed 3-1 before scoring three runs in the sixth inning.
The Knights will face Clovis West in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Thomas said Knights coach Tom Donald gave him the green light to walk away.
“I said ‘I’ve got you a coach,’” he said. “He said wait for the first strike and then I can swing. I took the first shot and saw it right there and that was all I trained myself to do. I just go down the middle and put one in the space, a little float over there.”
Central Section Playoffs
Baseball
Thursday quarterfinals
Division I
No. 1 Clovis West 6, No. 9 Centennial 3
No. 4 Bullard 4, No. 5 Frontier 3
No. 11 Clovis North 7, No. 14 Wood 1
#2 Liberty-Bakersfield 8, #7 Stockdale 1
Tuesday’s semi-finals
Bullard No. 4 at Clovis West No. 1
No. 11 Clovis North at No. 2 Liberty-Bakersfield
Division II
N°9 Atascadero 3, N°1 Cabrillo 2
No. 5 San Jose 7, No. 4 Ridgeview 5
No. 6 Lemoore 4, No. 14 Fresno 2
No. 2 Bakersfield Christian 8, No. 7 Sierra Pacific 0
Tuesday’s semi-finals
Atascadero No. 9 in San José No. 5
No. 6 Lemoore at No. 2 Bakersfield Christian
Division III
N°8 Edison 5, N°16 El Diamante 4
No. 3 Central Valley Christian 11, No. 11 Exeter 3
Friday
No. 5 Fowler at No. 4 Porterville
No. 10 Garces at No. 2 Kingsburg
Tuesday’s semi-finals
No. 8 Edison vs. No. 4 Porterville/No. 5 Fowler winner
No. 3 Central Valley Christian vs. No. 2 Kingsburg/No. Winner of 10 Garcés
Division IV
No. 1 Liberty-Madera Ranchos 7, No. 9 Reedley 1
No. 12 Monache 7, No. 13 Dinuba 6
No. 3 Mission Oak 14, No. 11 Golden West 1
No. 7 Independence 2, No. 2 Taft 1
Tuesday’s semi-finals
N° 12 Monache at N° 1 Liberty-Madera Ranchos
No. 7 Independence at No. 3 Mission Oak
Division V
N°1 Torres 7, N°9 Piedemonte 3
N°5 Sierra 17, N°13 East 13
No. 3 Shafter 3, No. 11 Wasco 1
No. 10 Firebaugh 4, No. 2 Yosemite 3
Tuesday’s semi-finals
N°5 Sierra in N°1 Torres
No. 10 Firebaugh on No. 3 Shafter
Division VI
No. 1 Woodlake 6, No. 8 Orange Cove 1
#5 Lindsay 2, #13 Rosamond 1
No. 6 South 9, No. 14 Mendota 1
No. 2 Chavez 1, No. 7 California City 0
Tuesday’s semi-finals
Lindsay No. 5 at Woodlake No. 1
No. 6 South at No. 2 Chávez