Rockwall coach Barry Rose felt confident that Saturday’s series decider against Mansfield would come down to pitching.
After a 9-1 loss to Mansfield Thursday and equalizing the series 8-5 Friday night, Rockwall had seen most of what Mansfield had to offer after it had gone deep in its bullpen the two days prior.
Rose expected some tired arms or inexperienced pitchers taking the mound for Mansfield Saturday that he knew his team could capitalize on. He had also saved junior pitcher Keller Lindeman, who hadn’t thrown a pitch all series.
Lindeman pitched a complete game in No. 1 Rockwall’s 6-0 win over Mansfield Saturday afternoon to claim the series and advance to the regional quarterfinals. He struck out three batters and allowed just four hits and two walks in the shutout, advancing to 9-0 on the year.
“Keller throws strikes, and he keeps guys on their toes because he works fast, and we played good defense behind him,” Rose said.
While Rockwall (33-7) was solid on the mound, Mansfield (20-8-2) struggled from the first inning. Mansfield used four different pitchers, who walked 12 batters and gave up six runs on four hits.
The first key error came in the bottom of the first when the umpire called a balk after Rockwall’s Micah Kendrick, a TCU commit, hit the right field wall for a double. Unlike college and professional baseball, a balk in high school is an automatic dead ball. Oklahoma commit Pearson Riebock was on third at the time and advanced home to give Rockwall the 1-0 lead.
When Kendrick returned to the plate, he hit another double to center field that brought home Ole Miss commit Brayden Randle and extended the lead to 2-0.
“To Micah’s credit, he didn’t get flustered, and he got it back,” Rose said.
After that play, Mansfield moved on to its second pitcher of the day.
Rockwall added a third run on a sac bunt from pinch hitter Jack Jungels that brought Drew Estrada home in the bottom of the third inning. That prompted another pitching change for Mansfield with Ben Watson entering the game.
Watson held Rockwall scoreless for two-and-a-half innings. During that time, Mansfield saw some progress on the offensive end, recording three of its four hits on the day in the fifth and sixth innings. In both innings, it left two runners on base.
Rockwall added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a 2 RBI single to right field by catcher Mac Rose. Riebock and Dylan Garcia both scored.
Mansfield brought in its fourth and final pitcher following the play but could not find any runs in a last-ditch effort at the plate in the top of the seventh.
Rockwall will face Mansfield Lake Ridge in the regional quarterfinals. Rockwall is back in the third round for the fourth consecutive season.
More baseball scores
El Paso Americas 5, Southlake Carroll 2: The reigning 6A state champions will not return to the state tournament, as El Paso Americas stunned Carroll and claimed the area round championship in a winner-takes-all game that began Friday and ended Saturday morning.
Americas led 3-2 when the game was postponed due to lightning in the fifth inning. When the game resumed this morning, Americas scored two runs off the bat in the bottom of the fifth to extend its lead. Carroll, the No. 8 team in The Dallas Morning News’ latest 6A poll, could never close the gap.
Carroll had tied the series at 1-1 Saturday afternoon after falling into an early hole when Americas won the first Thursday night.
Saturday’s elimination is Carroll’s earliest since 2016. Carroll had reached the state tournament four of the last five years and won titles in 2018, 2019 and 2022, in addition to a title in 2002.
Argyle 5, Fort Worth Arlington Heights 4: Colton Roquemore hit a walk-off sac fly to center field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Argyle a narrow victory in a winner-takes-all Game 3 of its area-round series.
Arlington Heights struck first in the top of the first inning before Argyle tied it up on a passed ball in the bottom of the second that allowed Park Prater to score. That same inning, Hunter Sandifer hit a two-run homer over the left field fence to increase Argyle’s lead to 3-1.
An error by Fort Worth Arlington Heights in fielding Nate Bruce’s grounder in the bottom of the fifth allowed Alex D’Angelo to score and further increase the lead.
But Arlington Heights came roaring back in the top of the sixth and tied it up at 4-4.
Argyle loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, which allowed Roquemore to drive Prater in for the win.
Argyle will face Burleson next round.
Aubrey 2, Godley 0: Aubrey pitcher Wake Huckaby allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out six batters in the shutout that clinched the series. Ryder Owens and Diego Tagliaferro each went 2-for-3 at the plate, as the team recorded seven hits and no errors in the contest. Tagliaferro also drove in both runs — the first of which came in the second inning and the second in the sixth inning. Hank Nokes scored both of Aubrey’s runs.
Grapevine 15, Wichita Falls Rider 4: Grapevine scored as many runs in the deciding game against Rider as it had in its three prior games combined, as the Dallas-area’s No. 1 5A team punched its ticket to the regional quarterfinals.
Grapevine recorded nine hits and just one error in the matchup, led by Sammy Kelley who homered in the top of the fifth and went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs.
Grapevine has not reached the third round since it went to the state finals in 2017.
Longview 11, Corsicana 9: In a thrilling back-and-forth battle, Longview rode a dominant eight-run third inning to victory in the matchup that decided the area series.
Longview earned an early 2-0 lead before Corsicana answered over the next two innings to take a 7-2 advantage. While it seemed the game was nearly out of reach early, Longview had an explosive third inning to erase the deficit and regain the lead.
While Corsicana managed to cut the lead to a single run in the fifth inning, Longview added its 11th and final score in the sixth to earn a spot in the third round for the first time since 1954.
Whitehouse 4, Ennis 1: Errors plagued Ennis in its elimination game against Whitehouse, which scored three of its four runs on mistakes by Ennis.
Keegan McCord had an RBI single to take the first lead in the second inning before the errors began and an error in the field and wild pitch allowed two more runs to come in.
Ennis responded in the third with one run, but Whitehouse added its fourth and final on an additional error in the fourth inning.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson 11, Wolfforth Frenship 1: Byron Nelson entered Saturday trailing 1-0 in the series to Frenship and narrowly tied it up with a 1-0 win in Game 2. That win forced a Game 3 immediately after.
While the first two games were decided by a single run, Byron Nelson left no questions in the decider, as it clinched the series in with a run-rule victory in the 10th inning. It advances to face El Paso Americas in the third round.
Softball scores
Frisco Heritage 2, Frisco Wakeland 0: Despite falling behind 1-0 in the series Thursday, Frisco Heritage, the No. 1 team in the Dallas area, kept its season alive Saturday night and knocked Wakeland out of the postseason.
Heritage scored both of its runs in the first inning on a two-run homer from Ahna VanMeter. There were only seven total hits in the game — three of which came from Wakeland’s Allison Pich, who went 3-for-3.
Heritage pitcher Jensin Hall struck out seven in the win while walking three and allowing three hits. She and the Coyotes advance to face Melissa in the regional semifinals.
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