Baseball regional semifinals: Flower Mound stuns Keller to extend series, more from area
The UIL high school baseball playoffs continued on Friday, and several Fort Worth-area teams had regional semifinal games. Here is a roundup of things to know from the area.
Flower Mound stuns Keller, forces game three
Keller entered game two of a regional semifinal series with an opportunity to eliminate the 2023 Class 6A state champions.
The Indians (27-12-1) led the majority of the game, but Flower Mound’s sixth inning surge led to a 2-1 victory at Horner Ballpark on Friday. Due to a lightning delay, the game started started at 9:45 p.m., over two hours after the scheduled start.
Game three will decide the series, and first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Horner Ballpark.
Mason Cook is the game’s losing pitcher but did more than enough for his team. He stymied the Jaguars for five innings and gave up only five hits in the game. Three of the five hits, however, came in the sixth inning.
Flower Mound (37-4) shortstop and Adrian Rodriguez tallied a 2 RBI triple to give the Jaguars their first lead of the game. With one swing of the bat, the momentum that Keller had the entirety of the game had fizzled.
“We know that we’re a better team than them, and we just need to play like it,” Rodriguez said. “We just need to get our bats rolling again like we did in the district tournament season. We just need to keep going and fight hard.”
Keller’s sole run came in the second inning when Cole Koeninger hit an RBI triple to score Jackson Ridge, who singled to start the inning. Despite the loss, Keller head coach Rob Stramp said his team competed well.
“I think they were ready to play and fired up,” Stramp said. “And we got a great pitching performance from (Mason) cook.”
Keller’s defense and pitching did more than enough to secure a victory. The offense, on the other hand, failed to capitalize with runners on base.
Cook needed run support, but it wasn’t there. His outing was excellent but he could only hold Flower Mound’s elite offense at bay for so long.
Rodriguez and outfielder Sam Erickson are Texas A&M commits while catcher Zane Becker is an Arkansas commit. Keller had opportunities to gain an edge over the Jaguars’ star studded lineup but couldn’t materialize runs.
“We had action in most innings,” Stramp said. “We had people on base. We didn’t add to our runs that we scored earlier. So, that hurt. And it gave them an extra opportunity to get ahead at the end. But it was a great game. A well pitched game on both sides.”
Flower Mound started right handed pitcher Zack James, a TCU commit. He threw a complete game, allowing one run in the second inning. He settled down, keeping Keller’s offense at bay until the Jaguars’ had an opportunity to pounce.
“That’s just our team,” James said. “We’re a family. We compete. We never let it get to the end. There’s been a lot of close games. A lot of times where we’re down and we just fight back. We claw back. And I had faith. I knew we were gonna pull it through as long as I could keep it close. And we did.”
James said the momentum gained from the game two will could help the Jaguars in game three.
“It feels amazing,” James said. “Our offense has been struggling a little bit and we finally feel like we’re getting a little bit of something again. Coach (Danny) Wallace has been saying ‘don’t let us get to game three’ and they let us get a game three. And we just have all the momentum and feel really excited about tomorrow.”
Stramp said game three for Keller will be a “staff” game from a pitching perspective. In a must win game, it’ll be an all hands on deck situation.
Keller has zero baseball state championships in program history and last made the state tournament in the 2021 season. Prior to that, the Indians waited 30 years following their first state birth in 1991.
Benbrook game two against Liberty-Eylau postponed
Game two of the Baseball 4A Region II semifinals -- Fort Worth Benbrook vs. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau -- was suspended due to lightning and an oncoming thunderstorm.
Benbrook went down in order to start the contest. Liberty-Eylau leadoff batter W. T. Jones was hit by a pitch, and with the second hitter coming to the plate, the field was cleared due to lightning.
Following a two and half hour delay, and a pending coming thunderstorm, the two teams mutually agreed to suspend the game. Game 2 will resume, where it left off, at 2 pm Saturday at Mike Carter Field. If Game 3 is necessary, that will begin 30 minutes following completion of Game 2.
Thursday night Liberty-Eylau took Game 1, which started almost two hours late due to the weather, 13-2, in a five-inning matchup as the run-rule came into effect.
Boswell forces a Game 3 with clutch win at Pearce
Boswell was in a must-win situation after losing Game 1, 10-5, at home in its Class 6A Region I semifinal series with Richardson Pearce.
But the Pioneers answered the call, downing Pearce, in Richardson, 6-1 on Friday to force Game 3 which is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Denton Guyer High School.
Boswell (32-7) scored single runs in each of the first three innings before putting up two in the sixth and an insurance run in the seventh.
Pearce (28-17) scored four runs in the fourth and five runs in the seventh in Game 1 on Thursday at Boswell to stun the Pioneers, but Boswell starter Mason Bell was having none of it.
Bell went the distance allowing a single earned run in seven innings, scattering five hits, walking none and striking out six.
Chase Pockrus had an RBI single in the first inning for Boswell, Xander Thacker lined a homer to left in the second and Bell singled and scored on an error in the third.
In the sixth, Josiah Wooten walked and scored on a sacrifice fly by Bryson Tenorio. Sawyer Farr followed with a single to right, stole second and scored on an error on a grounder by Coby McBride.
Pearce third baseman Tyler Sessions, who homered in the five-run seventh on Thursday, hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth for the Mustang’s only run. Sessions (2-for-2) and A.J. Ripley (2-for-3) had four of Pearce’s five hits on the night.
Mak Lerma singled in the seventh and scored later in the inning on a balk to negate the Pearce run the sixth.
The Mustangs got a one-out single by Carson Bailey in the seventh, but Bell fanned the final two hitters to force Game 3.
Farr and Pockrus were both 2-for-4 for the Pioneers.
Boyd pitching shuts down Harmony in sweep
Boyd followed up a one-hit, run-rule win in Game 1 with a two-hit shut out in Game 2 to sweep Big Sandy Harmony in a Class 3A Region II semifinal series played at North Forney High School.
Boyd (35-4-1) advances to meet Gunter (35-1) in the regional final next week. Gunter defeated Tatum 9-2 in a one-game playoff.
Three different pitchers took the mound for the Yellowjackets in Game 2 with starter Braden McIntire throwing five innings of one-hit ball allowing one walk and striking out seven. Evan Salinas worked a perfect sixth with Will McIntire allowing a one-out infield single to short before inducing a fly out to center and getting a strike out to end the game.
Colton Patton provided all the offense that Boyd would need with a two-run double in the second inning. With one out in the second, Elijah Webber singled to left with Will McIntire following with another ground single to left in front of Patton’s double.
In Game 1, Boyd scored in five of the six innings highlighted by a four-run fourth in an 11-1 win. The big blow in the inning was a two-run single by Eric Rogers that made it 7-0 Yellowjackets.
Boyd pounded out 11 hits with Rogers leading the way going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and four runs batted in. Catcher Aaron McGilvery went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Will McIntire had two hits in three at bats with a walk and two runs scored.
Webber started for the Yellowjackets allowing one hit, a fourth inning double by Harmony’s Riley Patterson, and one unearned run. Webber walked one and struck out five Eagles.
Harmony’s season ends at 28-8.
Grapevine shuts out Lubbock-Cooper to take Game 1
Grapevine opened its Class 5A Region I semifinal series with 4-0 shut out of Lubbock-Cooper in Game 1.
The series, being held at Steer Field in Graham, continues at 1 p.m. on Saturday with Game 2. If a Game 3 is needed it will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.
Dasan Hill was stellar on the mound for the Mustangs allowing two hits, three walks while striking out nine in the complete-game win.
Grapevine (34-4) scored a pair of runs each in the first and sixth innings. Jarett Boswell led the way with a walk in the first and later scoring on a wild pitch.
Boswell led off the sixth with a solo home run to right. Lale Esquivel doubled one out later and Conner Bell, running for Esquivel, scored on a double by Gianni Corral.
Corral and Sammy Kelley both went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Mustangs.
Timothy Haynes doubled twice for the Pirates, the only two hits for Lubbock-Cooper (26-14-1).
Results
Abilene Wylie (30-7) vs. Argyle (26-7-2)
G1: Argyle 12, Wylie 0 (5) G2: 1 p.m. Saturday, Cleburne HS G3: 30 minutes following G2*
Seminole (26-11) vs. Stephenville (27-10-1)
G1: Stephenville 5, Seminole 1 G2: 4 p.m. Saturday, Stephenville HS G3: 30 minutes following G2*
Brock (32-2) d. Lubbock Liberty (24-12)
G1: Brock 12, Liberty 2 (5) G2: Brock 19, Liberty 1 (5)
Boyd (35-4-1) d. Big Sandy Harmony (28-8)
G1: Boyd 11, Harmony 1 (5) G2: Boyd 2, Harmony 0
