PHOTOS | REPLAY

LONGVIEW – You might say it was worth the wait.
 
Bryce Brueggemeyer had a flair for the dramatics on a day everyone was forced to wait. In the last at-bat of a game the YellowJackets had to wait five hours just to play, LeTourneau's veteran leader delivered in the clutch for a walkoff win. Brueggemeyer ripped a two-out, two-run double to left in the bottom of the ninth, lifting LETU to a 5-4 win over Ozarks at Conrad-Vernon Field Saturday night.
 
"That last at-bat, that's what hitters dream about as a kid," Brueggemeyer said after going 4-for-5 with the gamewinning hit. "You just want this opportunity to do something for your team."
 
He did something alright, keeping his hot bat stinging as the YellowJackets won their 10^th game of the season to open the three-game series. It was a day in which the Jackets were supposed to play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., but a scheduling mix-up on the umpires' part forced a series switch to one game. The two teams will meet in a doubleheader beginning at noon Sunday.
 
Tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh, Jackets reliever Austin Bryan came on with two outs and two on, and got a strikeout to end the seventh. He struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth, and then, following Alex Ray's single to left, Bryan struck out Trey Vance to end the inning.
 
"Austin Bryan comes in, pitches great, he has electric stuff," Brueggemeyer said.
 
After the Eagles (12-7, 10-3) loaded the bases, LETU veteran reliever Kolton Eberlan inherited a 2-0 count with two outs in the ninth. Ray Lozano took the next two pitches to give Ozarks the go-ahead run. Eberlan then struck out Luke Morrison, the Eagles' cleanup hitter who carries a .433 average, to prevent any more damage. They were the only two batters Eberlan needed to face.
 
Then with two outs in the Jackets' final at-bat, Austin Smith drew a walk before Anthony Ybarra came on to run for him. When the first offering to Dane Jones skipped in the dirt, Ybarra took second. After Ozarks closer Kris Sloan came on to try to shut the door, inheriting a 1-0 count, Jones drew a walk. That set the stage for Brueggemeyer, who belted the second pitch he saw into left-center, and Jones trotted all the way around from first, following Ybarra to the plate for the walkoff win.
 
"Coming up clutch, I was thinking, 'Man, this would be a good time for him to get his first home run,' but the double would work," Jackets longtime skipper Robin Harriss said. "Got himself ahead in the count, kind of knew what was coming maybe, and did what he was supposed to do, and drove it over the left fielder's head. Good job running the bases there, and getting in with the winning runs."
 
It was a big win for the YellowJackets, with Ozarks sitting in second place in the American Southwest Conference. The victory brought the Jackets to the .500 mark in league play entering Sunday's twin bill.
 
"We just talked about being resilient through the whole deal," Harriss said, entertaining thoughts of his club having to wait through the five-hour delay. "That's pretty uncommon that stuff like that happens, but we got through it. The guys just battled. We hit the ball well, pitched well early on, and I'm just glad of the outcome."
 
Kameron Lindsey went 2-for-4, and Chaz Jackson was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Jackson singled down the right field line to score Kyle Maysonave with one out in the sixth, knotting the game at 3-3. Maysonave walked, and Lindsey followed with a base knock through the left side in the inning.
 
"We were sitting on the fastballs, and hoping we could square some up," Harriss said. "We have some ways to get better, but certainly proud of the way the guys battled. And again, two outs, nobody on, it looked like we were dead. So nice job for the team."
 
Starter Kolbey Sharpe went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out five. Bryan was lights out in his inning-and-a-third of middle relief, fanning four of the five batters he faced.
 
"He got us deep into the game, which is certainly what our starting pitchers to do," Harriss said. "Austin Bryan, for sure, he came in and closed the door."
 
Closed for a sleep, but it'll be back open at noon again Sunday as the series continues …