The ending was not what the Pleasant Grove baseball team had hoped for, but they still made us proud.

The Hawks fell to the #1 Class 4A team in the state of Texas in yesterday's state semi-final game. The final score was 7-5 Abilene Wylie. But the score does not indicate the heart of this Texarkana team.

The Hawks early on played uncharacteristically for them. The struggled on the mound and committed several errors. The team found themselves facing a quick 6-0 deficit after just two innings of play.

But the Hawks' character and intensity would not allow them to get down or think all was lost. As they have all year, PG players battled and fought and they clawed their way back into this game. Some excellent relief pitching and some hot bats reduced the deficit to 7-5 when the Hawks scored three runs in the sixth inning.

The Hawks kept coming at Abilene and even had the tying run at the plate in both the sixth and final seventh innings but came up just short.

Sure, I know the players and coaches are disappointed today because they came up one game short of where they wanted to finish, which was in the championship game.

Even though they won't be crowned Class 4A Texas State Champions for 2016, they are champions to their school and community for the way they performed all year and how they represented us with class in Austin yesterday.

Congratulations to the Coach Riley Fincher, Paul Phillips, J.W. Bramlett, and all the Hawk players for a super season, and in a sense taking us with them to Austin.

To the seniors, who have played their last game with Pleasant Grove, we say good luck to you in your next adventure in life. To the juniors and sophomores, who will return next year, and will be joined by a younger crop of teammates, we can't wait for that first pitch next February and the dream of making it back to State.

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