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Arlington Martin is one win away from a berth in the state tournament after defeating Southlake Carroll 7-3 in Game 1 of a best-of-three Class 5A Region I final series Wednesday at TCU's Lupton Stadium before an announced attendance of 1,600.
The Warriors (35-4) wasted no time getting to Dragons starter Sean Thompson, who was pulled after the second inning.
Josh Watson led off the game with a single, before Drew Dowdy drew a walk to set the table for designated hitter Anthony Lyons, who drove in both base runners on a double to right field to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Lyons, a junior, also added an RBI triple and scored a run in the seventh to finish 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a run scored.
"For a while there I was pulling my hair out a little bit," said Lyons, who has been in a slump. "I told myself today that I had to get my head back in it and focus. I just waited for a good pitch, kept my zone and did what I do."
Martin added another run in the second on a RBI single by Matt Waller.
Carroll's Austin Tyrone took the mound to start the third and struck out the first four batters he faced before struggling with control problems.
Tyrone walked two Warriors batters and hit another as Martin extended its lead to 4-0 in the fourth.
Carroll (24-12) cut the lead in half on a double to center field by Hayden Zier, driving in Tyler Barnes and Drew Brown.
Martin starter Collin Day gave up one more run in the sixth on a 385-foot solo home run to right-center off the scoreboard by Darien McLemore in the sixth. Day struck out three and allowed three runs on three walks and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Mike Hoffman struck out three of the four batters he faced to pick up the save for Martin.
"Collin [Day] pitched a great game," Martin coach Curt Culbertson said. "Our defense played well behind him tonight."
The game was delayed 30 minutes in the top of the sixth due to lightning. Game 2 is at 7:30 tonight at Lupton Stadium. Game 3 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, if necessary.
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