F Mound…2 0 0 2 0 1 3 – 8 9 0
Pearland..0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 1 4 0

Box Score

Kyle Johnston held Pearland to one run on 4 hits and Sean Wymer went 3-3 with an RBI to lead Flower Mound to an 8-1 win over Pearland and move to the Championship Game on Saturday. Flower Mound had 9 hits in the game but was helped out by 12 walks and 3 HBP. Pearland used 6 pitchers in the game.

Connor Wanhanen was 2-4 and scored 3 runs in the game. Noah Hill was 2-2 and had 2 RBIs on a walk and bunt single.

Notes
*Johnston had allowed only 2 baserunners through 6 innings. He gave up his first walk, 2 hits and 1 run in the bottom of the 7th but was able to finish the game.
*Flower Mound played great defense. Wanhanen made 2 sliding catches in centerfield. Hannah made a hard running catch in right field and Millard and Wymer both made good plays at 3B and 1B respectively.
*Chad Paris scored 3 runs as a courtesy runner for Mitch Andrews. Andrews was 1-2 with 2 BBs. Paris and Wanhanen scored 6 of the 8 runs.

Photo of Connor Wanhanen and Kyle Johnston Courtesy of Donald Boyles.
For Great Game action shots of high school baseball games, click on the link   http://donaldjboyles.smugmug.com/browse

College Station 5 Argyle 2 

–                               1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   R   H   E

College Station:        0   0   0   2   0   1   0   3   13  12  5

Argyle:                      0    0   0   1   0   0   1   0   3    8    4

These were two of the elite in 3A this season, and the anticipated pitchers did not disappoint.  For Argyle, you had the Texas Tech commit, Parker Mushinski, and for College Station, there was the Florida commit, MacGregor Hines.

Both of these guys started off hot, giving up nothing throughout the first 3 innings.  In the 4th is when both teams were able to scratch across runs.  It all started for College station with a 1-out walk by Bennett and Georgiades.  After a wild pitch, Whittlesey laid down an excellent bunt, scoring Bennett.  Georgiades also scored on another wild pitch.   Mushinski was pulled with 2 outs in the 4th inning.

Argyle responded in the bottom half of the 4th.  It all started with a deep shot by Mushinski to left field for a double.  He was advanced to 3B on flyout to RF by Balch, and then scored later on a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 2-1.  That score held up until the bottom of the 7th inning.  Boyzuick and McDonald both singled, and the winning run was on base with nobody out.  Hines was able to come up with a big strike out and line out to setup 2 outs.  However, Gibson hit a ground ball to 3rd, but the throw was a little low to 1B, and the error allowed for the game to continue into extras, tied 2-2.

Richardson and Bennett both walked to begin the 8th inning.  Georgiades singled to load the bases with nobody out.  Whittlesey, down 0-2 in the count, battled back to what would be the game winning RBI walk.  This would earn the junior MVP honors for the game.  Grisham gave College Station some extra cushion with a 2-RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2.

Hines was phenomenal on the mound, going 7 innings and giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits.  Rowlett came in to close things out in the bottom half of the 8th.  Rockwell, Boyd & Markwardt also pitched well in relief of Mushinski.

Congratulation to all the coaches (Holder, Griffin, Baxter, Kasprzyk) and their teams for making it to this point in the season!

Congrtulations to the entire community of College Station….STATE CHAMPIONS!

Aledo racked up 10 hits, 7 BB, and 4 HBP en route to a 9-1 win over favorite Hallsville.  The Aledo offense was led by both Wade Raburn and Zane Scott, who both went 2 for 2 on the night.  Raburn reached on every plate appearance, earning a walk and 2 HBP, while Scott had a BB and reached on an error along with his 2 singles.

The bigger story here was the line on Hallsville starting pitcher, Connor Reich.  Normally a very reliable and steady starter, Reich came out of the gate with good command and struck out 6 in four innings of work before battling through a very tough 5th where he walked 1 and hit 3 Aledo batters, as well as giving up 2 hits.

But not to take anything away from Aledo.  The Bearcats finished 3rd in District 7; and since starting the playoffs, have been close to unbeatable.  The Bearcats only went to 3 games once on their road to Round Rock, and credit much of their success to having to win 2 against Wichita Falls on the Saturday of the Area Round.  You might say that Hallsville pitching didn’t fare well because of the presence of the Bearcat hitters instead of the other way around.

Much of the credit should go to Aledo hurler, Chris Reed.  Reed threw a complete game 1 run – 1 BB gem on 87 total pitches.  Reed faced 26 batters in his 7 innings and really seemed to find his groove in the middle to late innings, striking out 6 of 11 from the 5th through the 7th.

Aledo will face Victoria East in the 4A Championship Game Friday night at 7pm at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

Photo Courtesy of Donald Boyles.
For Great Game action shots of high school baseball games, click on the link   http://donaldjboyles.smugmug.com/browse

Through 5 innings, the Victoria East batters saw 40 pitches on 21 plate appearances en route to a 4-1 victory over George Ranch.  That was the story of this game.  Before the George Ranch defense could adjust to one batter, the next hitter was putting the ball in play. Titan hitters racked up 11 hits and took advantage of an early George Ranch error in the 1st and a Mason Tipton homerun in the 7th to advance to the 4A State Final tomorrow at 7pm against the winner of Hallsville/Aledo.

All in all, Victoria East saw 78 pitches over 32 total plate appearances, putting the ball in play on the 1st pitch 13 times and on the 2nd pitch 8 times for a total of 21 times or 66% of the time that the ball was put in play with less than 3 pitches in the AB.  That aggressiveness led to a early lead that East didn’t relinquish.

The other contributing factor to what seemed like a cruising victory for East was the performance of Kyle Craft.  Craft threw 104 pitches, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits.

Photo Courtesy of Donald Boyles.
For Great Game action shots of high school baseball games, click on the link   http://donaldjboyles.smugmug.com/browse

Sunnyvale 13 Troy 3 

–                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E

Sunnyvale:        0   0   7   2   0   1   3   13  12  5

Troy:                 1    0   0   2   0   0   0   3    8    4

Sunnyvale, which was led by Nathan Hawkins on the mound and Seth Metzger & Wesley Phillips at the plate, has captured the 2A state championship for 2014, 13-3.  The sophomore came through in a big way on the hill, escaping multiple threats from the efficient Troy offense.  The young lefty, going the distance, scattered 8 hits and was able to strike out 11 Trojans while only walking 1.  Hawkins was voted as the MVP of the state championship game.

Offensively, things were relatively quiet for the Raiders up until the top of the 3rd inning, when a 7-spot was unleashed.  Lawson Ayo (2-5), Wesley Phillips (3-4) & Ryan Cottingame (2-4) all had impressive showings at the plate.  Castillo, Cottingame, & Ayo all had 2 RBI’s a piece.  Wiclox and Phillips also pitched in with an RBI.  The highlight of the evening for the offense came from Seth Metzger during that 7-run 3rd.  Metzger hit a high fly ball to right field, hitting about halfway up the foul poll for a 3-R HR.  Metzger finished the day 1-3, with 3 RBI’s and 2 BB.  The Sunnyvale Raiders finish their outstanding run at 30-7.

Troy finished their impressive season with a 30-10 mark.  Troy did not go quietly in this game, putting pressure on with their bats.  The Trojans ended up with 8 hits.  Whitley (2-3) and Harrimon (2-4) led the way, while Mungia, Criswell, Mattke & Cox all had a hit.  Stanford started the game, going the first 2.1 innings.  Saldana then came in and threw 3.1 innings while Munoz wrapped up the final 1.1.

Congrats to all 4 state tournament coaches (Arden, Sebesta, Cruz & Heard) and their teams for making this another great state tournament.

Congratulations to the entire community of Sunnyvale…..STATE CHAMPIONS.

Photos Courtesy of Donald Boyles.
For Great Game action shots of high school baseball games, click on the link   http://donaldjboyles.smugmug.com/browse

Douglas, led by senior pitcher Matthew Wallace cruised to a 10-0 1A State Championship win.  Wallace (11-1 on the season) threw a complete game shutout on 62 pitches, allowing only 2 hits and going 2 for 3 at the plate with a single, double and an RBI.  Wallace hit a homerun in the Semifinal and came close again today, short hopping one off of the wall in left field.  Wallace’s efforts today earned him the 1A State Final MVP Award.

The Indian offense was potent today, taking the early lead in the 2nd on a single by Trenton Carrigan.  That one run would prove to be all it took for Douglas, but they didn’t stop there.  The Indians would combine for 11 hits, 3 of which were extra base hits.  Grant Holland was impressive going 3 for 3 with 2 singles, a triple, a walk, and 2 RBI.  Other Indians with multiple hit days were Matthew Wallace (2 for 3), Kolten Rhoudes (2 for 4, 3 RBI), and Hunter Lee (2 for 3, 3 RBI).

The Flatonia Bulldogs struggled, only managing 3 hits (all singles).  The Bulldogs did reach base on back-to-back errors in the 4th, but couldn’t find a way to push a run across.  The Bulldogs finish the season with an impressive 23-7 record and can hold their heads high as the 1A State Final Runner-Up.

Congratulations to all four 1A schools that made the State Tournament this year.  And a special congratulations to Coach Lafitte, his staff, players, fans, and school administrators on a fantastic season that culminated in the 1A State Title.

Sunnyvale 4 East Bernard 3

In one of the more exciting games you will see at the state tournament, Sunnyvale responded to a late East Bernard rally to win a thrilling 4-3 game over the Brahmas.  Offensively, the Raiders were led by Phillips (2-4) & Cottingame (2-3) at the plate.  Cottingame & Metzger accounted for the two RBI’s in the game.  Castillo was also huge at the plate, never recording an ab-bat, but picking up 3 base on balls as well as the suicide squeeze, which ended up being the game winner.  Wilcox threw 7 innings, giving 8 hits and just 2 earned runs to go along with 4 K’s.

Jake Wilcox: 0-3

Lawson Ayo: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R

Wesley Phillips: 2-4

Ryan Cottingame: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R

Seth Metzger: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI

Jose Castillo: 0-0, 3 BB, 1 R

Sam Shaver: 1-4

Joey Rosato: 0-3

Cash Goodhart (PR): 1 R

Brant Taylor: 0-0, 1 BB

Jake Wilcox: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Lubbock Cooper ..1 1 0 1 0 2 3 0 – 8 11 1
College Station…..0 0 0 0 5 2 1 1 – 9 11 3

Box Score

Notes

*Matthew Bennett got the walk off single to win the game in the bottom of the 8th
*The lead changed hand 4 times in the game.
*Baylor Rowlett was 3-3, 2 BBs, with an RBI
*Kyle Richardson and Ryan Johnson both 2 RBIs for College Station
*Stanton Keane had 5 RBIs for Lubbock Cooper