Big game: Coll Carroll's gem helps Calallen baseball outduel Sinton in high-stakes series
Coll Carroll put together arguably the most important pitching performance of his young Calallen High School baseball career on Thursday.
Tabbed with starting the lid lifter of a Class 4A area round series with area power Sinton, the left-handed Carroll kept the Pirates potent lineup in check for much of the game and outdueled senior and Blinn College signee Aiden Moody in the process. Carroll's gem combined with some timely hitting pushed the Wildcats to a 5-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead.
Carroll didn't face a runner in scoring position until the fifth and held the top five the Pirates order to a combined 2 of 14, and finished the game allowing two runs, three hits with eight strikeouts before reaching his pitch limit in the seventh. Carroll ran into some trouble in the sixth, giving up a run on a Kash Wood RBI single and again in the seventh, allowing two runners on before he recorded a strike out to end his night.
Cody Andrade finished out the game with a save, and striking out Wood to end the game.
Early runs prove key for Calallen
The Wildcats spotted Carroll two early runs when they took advantage of Moody's struggles in the opening inning to score two runs. Matt Lopez drew a bases loaded walk and Drayton Mitchell sliced a single to right for a 2-0 lead. Moody settled down and allowed two runs over the next three-plus innings before he exited the game.
Calallen tagged on another run in the fourth as two infield singles were followed by an error to allow Drayson Gamez to score, and the Wildcats added one more in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by RJ Cruz. Some more timely hitting for the Wildcats in the sixth tacked on one more with an RBI double by Tres Vasquez. Vasquez finished the night 2 for 4 at the plate with two doubles.
High School Baseball Sinton vs Calallen: Players, storylines to watch in titanic high school baseball matchup
High School Baseball 2024 Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend high school baseball playoff scores, schedule
High School Baseball District 31-4A flexing and what we learned after first round of high school baseball playoffs
Up next
This is the fourth straight playoff meeting between Calallen and Sinton and the second consecutive that involved a series. The two teams will meet in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Friday in at Gene Kasprzyk Field in Sinton with the Wildcats looking to close it out. If there is a third game, the two coaches will flip for site after the conclusion of Game 2
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Stellar pitching, timely hitting push Calallen baseball past Sinton in Game 1
