Baseball recap: Keller, Aledo score late to pick up wins; Argyle falls to Stephenville
Keller 2, Southlake Carroll 1
The Indians rallied back with both runs in the top of the seventh to stun the Dragons in Game 1 of the Class 6A Region 1 final Thursday night at Dallas Baptist University.
Game 2 is slated for 5 p.m. Friday at DBU.
In a matchup of two of the top pitchers in the area, Keller’s Eric Hammond (USC signee) and Carroll’s Griffin Herring (LSU commit) dueled for six innings with Carroll holding onto a 1-0 lead.
Herring started the top of the seventh, but issued a lead off walk to Clayton Thomas and then was taken out at 103 pitches for closer Luke Gornell. With a runner at first, Keller (34-6) loaded the bases with a walk to Whit Thoms and high chopper to third that turned into an infield single for Todd Baffa.
Gornell got a shallow pop fly to left for the first out, but lead off batter Griffin Barton took the first pitch up the middle for the game-tying RBI single. Next batter Aidan Connors drove in the go-ahead run on an RBI sac fly to left center. Braden Davis came on in relief for Keller and got two strikeouts and force out to close the game after Carroll put runners on second and first with two outs.
Hammond allowed three hits and an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning with eight strikeouts. Carroll’s Ben Tryon hit a hard grounder that got past the Keller second baseman and Max Reyes scored from second for the 1-0 lead. Herring allowed three hits, two runs and four strikeouts.
Both teams stranded seven base runners. Keller had runners on during the first four innings, including two in the second, but Carroll turned a 6-4-3 double play. The Indians had runners on second and third in the fourth, but Herring got a fielder’s choice and strikeout to end the threat.
Carroll (28-17) had chances in the early going, but Thoms threw out runners stealing second in back-to-back innings. Projected Game 2 starters will be Keller’s Robert Cranz (Wichita State) and Carroll’s Owen Proksch (Duke).
Aledo 2, Amarillo 1
Max Belyeu’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth sent the Bearcats past the Sandies in Game 1 of the Class 5A Region 1 final Thursday at Christensen Stadium in Midland.
Game 2 is 2 p.m. Friday back in Midland.
Amarillo (31-9) would take a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second, but Aledo (29-9-2) tied it in the bottom of the third on an RBI sac fly from Zach Harrison that scored Parker Stegall.
Hunter Rudel pitched six innings for the Bearcats allowing seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Creed Willems (TCU) got the save in the seventh picking up back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out back to mound.
Stephenville 6, Argyle 1
The Yellowjackets scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to eliminate the two-time defending Class 4A state champs in the Class 4A Region 1 final Thursday at Abilene Christian University.
Stephenville (28-8-1), which won 2-0 on Wednesday, is headed to the UIL state tournament for the first time in program history. It will play next Wednesday at UFCU Disch Falk at the University of Texas.
Argyle, which suffered its first playoff loss since 2017 on Wednesday, ends at 29-11.
The Eagles stranded 15 base runners in the series.
Shallowater 6, Brock 5
The Mustangs hung on against a fierce rally to beat the Eagles in Game 1 of the Class 3A Region 1 final on Thursday at ACU. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Friday at ACU.
Shallowater (34-6) took a 5-0 lead before Brock (27-10-1) rallied.
Brock scored four runs in the bottom of the second and one run in the fifth.
Gunter 6, Atlanta 0
Gunter swept the Class 3A Region 2 final and is headed to state for the first time in 20 years.
Hallsville 3, Frisco Wakeland 1
Hallsville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the Class 5A Region 2 final. Game 2 is set for 8 p.m. Friday at DBU.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 11:09 PM.
