Celina kept its season alive in a big way.
After dropping Game 1 of its best-of-3 4A Region II final playoff series with Texarkana Liberty-Eylau on Thursday, Celina marched to an 8-0 win in Game 2 on Friday night at Winnsboro High School.
Forcing Game 3 scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., Celina (37-6) outhit Liberty-Eylau 9-1 on Friday. Celina pitcher Spencer Coon had an unbelievable seven innings on the mound, allowing one hit and no runs all night and piling up nine strikeouts. Coon also went 1-for-3 at bat and scored one run.
Louisiana-Monroe signee Major Brignon led Celina with 2 RBIs and finished 2-for-4 on the night. Zack Henderson went 2-for-2 and scored a run.
Celina scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning when Henderson hit an RBI single. Brignon’s 2-RBI triple shortly after gave Celina a 3-0 advantage. Celina scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ethan Delgado and Henderson both tripled. Before those hits, Gavin Reed bunted and reached third base on an error. Two runners scored on that play.
Game 1 of the series was a heartbreaker for Celina, who has met Liberty-Eylau in the playoffs for three straight years. Liberty-Eylau’s Gabe Jarvis doubled in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in two runs and seal his team’s 7-6 win over its playoff rival.
A win over Liberty-Eylau on Saturday would advance Celina to the state tournament for the third time in program history. Celina won its first and only state championship in 2002. Celina fell to Sinton in the 2022 Class 4A state semifinal.
Myah Taylor
HURST – Grapevine turned to Dasan Hill in a must-win situation and the senior left-handed ace delivered with an overpowering performance.
Hill, a Dallas Baptist signee, struck out 12 in six innings and Grapevine coasted to an 8-2 victory in Game 2 to even the best-of-3 series for the Class 5A Region I title and a state tournament berth Friday night before another capacity crowd at L.D. Bell’s Nathan F. Danford Field.
“These are my favorite moments to be pitching,’’ said Hill, who improved his season record to 10-0 and his strikeout total to 145.
“Dasan was really good,’’ said Grapevine coach Jimmy Webster. “We had him at 92 to 95 mph.’’
Grapevine (37-5), No. 2 in the Class 5A state coaches’ poll and No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps, is trying to reach the state tournament for the first time in seven years and third time overall.
Grapevine (37-5), No. 2 in the Class 5A state coaches’ poll and No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps, is trying to reach the state tournament for the first time in seven years and third time overall.
Argyle (30-8-2), a state finalist in the last two seasons and No. 6 in the state poll, saw its 10-game winning streak end. The Eagles are seeking their seventh state tournament appearance and fourth state title.
Game 3 is set for 1 p.m. Saturday with all games at Bell.
Argyle touched Hill for a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Micah Roberts’ single to centerfield scoring Grady Emerson, who led off with a single.
Grapevine responded by taking advantage of a couple of Argyle defensive lapses to go in front for the first time in the series, 2-1. Ryan Williams reached on a two-base throwing error and scored on Gianni Corral’s bunt single.
After a walk and a Zack Goldstein single, Brent Lee grounded an infield hit and the resulting wild throw to first allowed the go-ahead run to score.
A squeeze bunt by Grapevine cleanup hitter Williams scored Peyton Tatum from third base for a 3-1 Mustang lead in the third. Tatum opened the inning with a bunt that produced an errant throw.
Grapevine padded its lead to 8-1 by using more small ball. Following consecutive one-out walks, three consecutive Mustang batters, Lee, Sammy Kelley and Tatum, dropped bunts and all three not only advanced runners but also reached base.
“If the situation calls for it, we aren’t afraid to use the bunt,’’ said Webster. “Not many people work on the bunt and not many work on defending it.’’
Jarret Boswell’s fly ball to right was lost in the lights, allowing two runs to score. Williams finished off the outburst with an RBI single.
Park Prather pitched the seventh inning in relief of Hill.
Brady Boozer and Goldstein had two hits for Grapevine and Emerson had two hits for Argyle.
Argyle behind a dominating pitching performance from Alex D’Angelo blanked Grapevine 1-0 on Thursday.
Randy Jennings
FRISCO – In Richardson J.J. Pearce’s improbable run to striking distance of the 2024 state tournament the most impressive win may have happened on Friday. The Mustangs now have a win over a team with a legitimate claim as the best on their resume.
Pearce got a two-run single apiece from A.J. Ripley and Natanael Melendez to provide the bulk of its scoring and knock off defending Class 6A state champion Flower Mound 5-3 in Game 2 of the Class 6A Region I series at Riders Field, evening up the series at one win apiece. Pearce also had a solid effort from southpaw starting pitcher Carson Bailey, who scattered four hits while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Unranked Pearce (30-18), which started this season 2-11 and was down its last strike twice this postseason, is one win away from its first trip to state. Flower Mound (39-5) – ranked No. 1 in The Dallas Morning News’ 6A area poll and the THSBCA 6A state poll as well as No. 5 in the MaxPreps national poll – was stymied from making its fifth appearance at the state tournament. The third and deciding game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Riders Field.
Ripley’s key hit came in the bottom of the third inning on a shot to left. Melendez got his to center with one out in the fourth, set up by a double to center by Sam Kinder, to give Pearce a 5-2 lead.
Ripley – a McLennan Community College commit – and Melendez had two hits apiece with Ripley driving in three runs. Kinder had three hits and a stolen base while scoring three runs.
Bailey limited Flower Mound to four singles while allowing three walks. Degan Kubat got the last four outs to pick up a save. Kubat, a Navarro College commit, inherited the bases loaded in the sixth, but after Texas A&M commit Sam Erickson drew a bases-loaded walk, he got out of the jam with a strikeout and got a double play in the seventh to end the game.
Flower Mound pitcher Zack James, a TCU commit, suffered his first loss of this season, dropping to 6-1. James had seven strikeouts over five innings while allowing eight hits and two walks
Adam Hawrylak put Flower Mound up 1-0 in the top of the first by drawing a walk, stealing second, going to third on a wild pitch and coming home when Adrian Rodriguez got caught in a rundown between first and second base. Ripley got the run back for Pearce in the bottom of the frame with a two-out, RBI single to left-center. Flower Mound cut to 3-2 in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to right by Sam Distel, but left two runners in scoring position.
Nash Hornberger went 2 for 2 at the plate for Pearce. Josh Glaser, a Texas State commit who pitched a complete game in a 5-4 win in Game 1 on Thursday, had two hits for Flower Mound.
Rick Kretzschmar
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