LUFKIN -- With pro scouts watching, Bryan Viking pitcher Sean Weatherford struck out 13 Lufkin Panthers en route to a 6-1 victory in Game 1 of a best-of-3 Class 5A area playoff series Thursday night at Garrison Field in Morris Frank Park.

The series moves to Bryan for Game 2 at 3 p.m. Saturday at Viking Field with Game 3, if necessary, to follow 30 minutes later.

The hard-throwing Weatherford moved to 9-1 for the year and increased his strikeout mark to 112. He gave up five hits and walked four. While he was throwing in the low 90s, it wasn't his fastball but his curveball and slider that declawed the Panthers.

"Sean had a pretty good game on the hill," Bryan coach David Powers said. "His curve and slider just makes his fastball look faster. We didn't know this morning if he would be able to pitch because his allergies had him down. But he got a shot, and fixed it up."

At the plate, seventh-ranked Bryan (29-4-1) pounded out eight hits and got a lot of help from Lufkin's pitching staff in the form of eight free passes.

Lufkin's two top pitchers, Marty Anderson and Marcus Drake, couldn't find the strike zone, but sophomore Luis DeJesus, a JV pitcher most of the season, came on in the fifth and was Lufkin's only pitcher that had any luck against Bryan. The hard-throwing sophomore struck out five Vikings in his three innings of work.

"He pitched against us earlier this year in a tournament, and we beat him 3-0, but he is a good young prospect," Powers said of DeJesus.

Powers didn't name a Game 2 starter. He says he expects Lufkin (18-16) to pitch J.P. Clifton and Chase Greening on Saturday.

Bryan scored all six of its runs in the first four innings, including two in the first.

"It always helps when you jump off to a quick start," Powers said.

Bryan's Tyler Grygar led off the game with a double off the right-center field wall and scored when sophomore Krey Bratson tripled to straight-away center. Bratsen scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center by shortstop David Pfunter. Adam Kolinek hit a deep fly to the wall in center for the third out.

Bryan's leadoff hitter scored in each of the first four innings. Catcher Collin Janssen led off the second with a walk, reached second on an error by Lufkin on Geronimo Longoria's grounder and scored on a wild pitch.

Pfunter led off the third with a single to left, followed by a walk to Longoria and a high-hop bunt base hit by Janssen.

Longoria's fielder's chose scored Pfunter, and Kolinek came home on Thomas Ponzio's sacrifice fly.

Lufkin scored its solo run in the second on a walk to Ricky Dominguez, a hit batsman, another walk and an infield hit by Will Horn.

In the fourth, Weatherford drew a leadoff walk and Bratsen got a key bunt hit. Weatherford later scored on a solid single to left by Longoria. Longoria also got the only hit of DeJesus with a screamer into left field.

Longoria and Bratsen each had a pair of hits to lead Bryan.

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