PEARLAND — When looking at the game stats with Dawson getting five hits and Clear Springs being held to only two hits, one would think that the Eagles would have won the game.

But there were a lot of other things that went on during the game that gave Springs the win in the best-of-three series.

Dawson pitcher Austin Langland went the distance as he allowed two hits, four runs, five strike outs, and four walks.

The Chargers broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Trey Luper reached base on an error. Dalin Stanton reached first on a bunt single. But then Langland was called for two straight balks which brought home one run.

Then Langland unleashed a wild pitch that allowed another run to score -- all without the benefit of a hit giving the Chargers a 2-0 lead.

"The first balk was pretty legit, he just bounced and didn't come to a complete stop," said Dawson head coach Kerry Cox. "The second time he paused a long time but they still called it. I don't know it was just a difference of opinions."

In the top of the fifth, the Eagles got two runners on base but were unable to bring in a run.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Chargers added another run as Michael Gillaspia reached base on a one-out single. Langland uncorked another wild pitch send Gillaspia to second and then ultimately to third after the catcher mishandled the ball. Luper then brought in Gillaspia with a sacrifice bunt to increase the lead to 3-0.

In the sixth, the Chargers scored again as Drew Minter reached base on a walk. Minter stole second and scored when Dylan Byrd reached base on an error to make the score 4-0.

Dawson managed to score a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Langland making the final 4-1.

In the final analysis, balks, wild pitches, and errors were the things that led to Dawson's demise.

Clear Springs 5 - Dawson 0

With the season on the line, the Dawson Eagles battled the Clear Springs Chargers for six scoreless innings until the dam broke in the top of the seventh and the Chargers scored five runs to eliminate the Eagles from the 6A Region III playoffs.

Clear Springs had runners in scoring position earlier, but were unable to breakthrough for a score.

But in the seventh, the Chargers got some run production when Dalin Stanton drove in two runs with an RBI single to left for a 2-0 lead.

Trey Luper followed with an RBI triple to right field that brought home two more runs and then Tyler Hendrickson plated the fifth run with a single to right which was enough to give Springs the 5-0 win and a sweep of the series.

The Chargers ended the game with seven hits, five runs, and zero errors. The Eagles finished with four hits, two errors, and no runs.

Dawson pitcher Adam Houghtaling took the loss as he threw six and a third innings, allowing five runs, six hits, and struck out nine.