Sweet revenge was the order of the day at the American Legion Mid-South Regional Sunday, and it was served cold by Enid Majors starting pitcher Eddie Cervantes.

Almost a year after his team was eliminated from the postseason by the Midwest City Outlaws at David Allen Memorial Ballpark, Cervantes took the ball on the mound and shut down the Oklahoma state champions 14-3 in seven innings at the downtown ballpark.

The win kept the Majors (43-14) in contention for the regional championship, which will be decided today at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. The Majors face Hattiesburg, Miss., a 10-8 winner over previously undefeated Texarkana, Texas, at 2 p.m. today.

The winner faces Texarkana at 7 for the championship and a spot in the Legion World Series in Fargo, N.D.



The Outlaws ended their season with a 70-11 record.

Cervantes approached Enid coaches after the Majors’ 6-2 loss to Texarkana, Texas, on Saturday and told them he wanted to pitch. He tossed three innings of relief in Friday’s 9-5 win against Jonesboro, Ark., but he hadn’t started a game this season.

He made his first start memorable with a complete game victory. He gave up a pair of home runs but scattered only six hits and struck out nine. He moved to 7-0 this season.

“I told them I wanted the ball — to take it into my own hands,” said Cervantes. “It always feels good to beat the Outlaws.”

Majors head coach Bill Mayberry told local media Saturday night he would be starting regular ace Tobin Mateychick. He even warmed up Mateychick before the game to fool the opponents. The Outlaws hadn’t faced Mateychick this summer, and they thought they were about to get their first chance.

Before the Outlaws realized they were in for a surprise when they came to bat in the bottom of the first, they were rattled by lefty Dylan Nave’s opposite-field home run to lead off the game.

Nave poked Dalton Bernard’s offering up into the air and let the wind carry it over the left field wall to put the Majors ahead early.

“I was just trying to get good momentum, giving the guys behind me a chance to drive me in,” said Nave. “But the home run worked, too.”

Cervantes gave up an early run but retired the last three hitters he faced in the first, stranding a runner at third.

The Majors erupted for six runs and three extra-base hits in the second, putting the Outlaws behind the eight-ball.

Zach Sell drove home Logan Nault and Kelly Padilla on a double to center field. Nave followed with a double and was brought home on a Nick Rountree double to left field.

A Josh Halbert error plated Sell, and Mateychick scored Cervantes on a sacrifice fly. Zach Gonzalez ended the onslaught by driving home Rountree with a single.

The Majors chased two Midwest City pitchers in the first two innings. Bernardi took the loss, allowing four earned runs on three hits. Southpaw Wayland Moore allowed five hits and five runs in 2/3 of an inning.

The Majors didn’t let up, plating two in the third, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the seventh.

Nave led the charge with five hits and three RBI. He’s hitting .647 (11-for-17) in the regional with eight RBI and eight runs.

Cervantes helped his cause by driving home a pair of runs. Gonzalez finished 2-for-5 with two RBI, and Mateychick smacked three hits.

The victory was extra sweet for Majors assistant coach Tony Gwinn, who coached the Outlaws to a 5-2 win over the Majors in last year’s regional at the downtown ballpark. His scouting proved to be valuable in this summer’s rematch.

“I watched a lot of those guys in probably 200 at bats, threw to them at batting practice and watched them pitch a hundred innings,” said Gwinn. “It was a huge advantage, and I’m sure they knew that. … Our guys still have to go out and execute and they did.”



MAJORS 14, MIDWEST CITY 3 (7)



Majors Midwest City

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Nave lf 5 3 5 3 Halbert 3b 3 1 0 0

Cervntes p 4 2 1 2 Nelson 2b 3 0 1 0

Rountree c 5 1 1 1 Head cf 2 1 2 1

Matychk 3b 4 1 3 1 Realmto ss 3 0 0 1

Gonzlz 1b 5 1 2 2 Mrphy lf-p 2 0 1 0

Floyd ss 5 0 1 0 Brnardi p-rf 3 0 0 0

Nault cf 3 3 1 0 Morrison c 2 0 0 0

Padilla 2b 2 2 1 0 Flwallen ph 1 0 0 0

Sell rf 4 1 1 2 THawkns rf 0 0 0 0

Moore p 1 0 0 0

Waggamn 1b 2 1 1 1

JHwkns 1b-lf 3 0 1 0

Totals 37 14 16 11 Totals 25 3 6 3



Majors 162 011 3 -14

Midwest City 100 100 1 -3



E-Halbert (2), Realmuto, Head, Nelson. DP-Majors 1, Midwest City 1. LOB-Majors 8, Midwest City 4. 2B-Sell, Nave, Rountree, Mateychick, Gonzalez. HR-Nave, Head, Waggaman. S-Padilla, Head. SF-Mateychick, Floyd, Padilla. SB-Mateychick.



IP H R ER BB SO

Majors

Cervantes W 7 6 3 3 2 9

Midwest City

Bernardi L 11/3 3 4 4 2 2

Moore 2/3 5 5 4 0 1

Chase 22/3 3 1 1 1 1

Murphy 21/3 5 4 3 1 3



WP-Cervantes, Bernardi (2). HBP-Cervantes by Murphy. T-2:19.