State Semifinal Game 1 – Southlake Carroll 3 The Woodlands 1

So SS Joseph Figueroa hit a 2 Run double and Sr RHP Nicco Cole held The Woodlands to one unearned run as Southlake Carroll won 3-1 in Game 1 of the 6A State Semifinals. The Dragons advance to the State Championship Game on Saturday to play the winner of the San Antonio Reagan/Cy Ranch Semifinal.

Southlake Carroll scored first in the 3rd inning when Cade Bell doubled and moved to 3rd on a Adam Stephenson sacrifice. With 2 outs, a wide throw on a ground ball by SS PJ Villareal put Cole Johnson safely on base and allowed Bell to score from 3rd.

The Woodlands tied the game in the top of the 5th with an exact situation. Ryan Solberg singled and advanced on an errant throw by Figueroa. Solberg moved to 3rd on a groundout and with two outs, scored when Figueroa’s throw was wide to get Shane Sirdashney out at 2B.

But the sophomore put the past behind him in the 6th. After singles by Nik Millsap and Will Quillen, Figuerao hit a deep ball to left center to score both runners.

Meanwhile, Cole confounded The Woodlands batters with a sharp breaking ball. The strong Highlander hitting team was held to 3 hits and 1 unearned run and Cole struck out 10 batters while only awarding 1 base on balls. “I was pretty fired up. State is an unreal experience, especially to experience twice, Cole explained. “I was commanding my off speed pitches really well early on and my fastball got better towards the end of the game so I really had all 3 pitches working for me towards the end.”

Southlake Carroll lost the state semifinal game last year so winning this game was really sweet for the Dragons. “Nicco Cole has stepped upon beyond belief this year. This was a special performance by a special kid. He’s just a bulldog and you saw that tonight. When he pitches like that, we always have a chance.”  Nicco was named the THSB Player of the Game

The 6A State Championship Game will be played Saturday at 4 PM at Dell Diamond.

Southlake Carroll 3 The Woodlands 1 Box Score