Opportunities do not present themselves often in a game between two equally matched, and equally good, baseball teams.

Banquete, though, was presented with a rare opportunity against rival Bishop on Wednesday that Bulldogs coach Rusty Miller knew his team could not squander.

The Bulldogs loaded the bases on a strikeout-wild pitch, a hit batter and an error with no outs and it was the chance Banquete needed to cut into a three-run lead against the Badgers.

Another error on an errant throw brought in a run that cut the lead to two runs and then Anthony Gomez's two-run double tied the game at 3. The Bulldogs came through at an opportune time, and it was a momentum swing that changed the course of a game Banquete won 4-3.

'It was surprising, but that is just the game,' Gomez said. 'We made some errors, too, but thank God it went our way. That's just baseball.'

It was the scenario that Miller and Bishop coach J.K. Moody said could play out for the two competitive teams that do not miss routine plays. As Game 2 is set for noon Friday — it was moved from its original slot at 5 p.m. Saturday — in the best-of-3 Region IV-3A final series, both coaches fully expect those kind of situations to pop up again. How each team handles it could be the difference between packing the gear and heading for Round Rock or going home.

'That was our inning,' Miller said. 'If we didn't put (runs) on the board right there we were in trouble. (Bishop) is a really good team and they are not going to quit. They are going to come right back out here Saturday and fight with us. We just took advantage of a couple of miscues they had.'

Neither team did quit but the Bulldogs' had enough momentum to score one more run an inning later to take the lead and win the game in front of a crowd estimated at more than 2,000 people.

Prior to that big inning, though, Miller said he was concerned about how energized his team was in the early innings. He saw a team that was too hyped up.

He brought in ace Jake Mijares to pitch in the third inning and his presence helped to keep the team's emotions in check as Mijares also pitched four scoreless innings to earn the win. He did give up a two-run double to Dalton Horner that scored two runs in the third, but both runs were charged to starter Richard Sanchez.

'Jake was a calming force for our whole team,' Miller said. 'The energy and enthusiasm was too high in the first two innings. Our blood was pumping too fast. We were more relaxed and more comfortable.'

Moody said his team did not execute in the key third inning, but there was no panic from the Badgers in the first-base dugout on Wednesday. Moody even said his players will be comfortable even if they are down a game in the series and a shot to go to state for the second consecutive year is on the line.

'You can't not be excited to play against your rival, and it's a do-or-die game to try to force a Game 3 to go to the state tournament,' Moody said. 'These kids know what it's like to go to the state tournament. They are hungry and they want to get back.'

Twitter: @Caller_Len