High school baseball playoff recap (6/3): Legacy takes Game 1; Carroll, Argyle sweep

Southlake Carroll 4, Keller 0

After dropping both games in District 4-6A play to Keller, Southlake Carroll returned the favor when it mattered most, sweeping the Indians with a 4-0 win on Friday in a rain-delayed Class 6A Region I Final at The Depot in Cleburne.

Carroll (32-8) will be making its tenth trip to the state baseball tournament and will be seeking its fifth state title. The Dragons, who won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019, will play in the semifinals at either 4 or 7 p.m. on Friday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

After an hour weather delay, Carroll starter and LSU signee Griffin Herring was in a tight pitcher’s duel with Keller’s Zach Erdman, a Texas Tech signee, for the first three innings.

The Dragons finally pushed across a run in the fourth when Ethan Mendoza led off the inning with a hustling double to right center. An infield single by Ben Tryon moved Mendoza to third and Max Reyes followed with a sacrifice fly to center to give Carroll a 1-0 lead.

Keller (26-9) never got a runner past second base in the game and couldn’t get a timely hit. Herring allowed two hits while striking out nine.

The Dragons broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, sending seven hitters to the plate and scoring three times.

Erdman allowed singles by Tyler White and Cole Bedwell to open the inning, but struck out the next to batters. Mendoza followed with an RBI single and Tryon sliced a ground-rule double to left to make it 3-0 Carroll.

Nick Robb relieved Erdman and allowed Mendoza to score on a wild pitch to up the lead to 4-0.

Keller (26-9) reached the title game a season ago, but struggled against Carroll pitching the past two days. The Dragons allowed a total of six hits and no runs in the series while recording 19 strikeouts.

Mansfield Legacy 8, Aledo 5 (8)

Mansfield Legacy blew a four-run lead in the seventh then rallied to down Aledo in Game 1 of their best of three Class 5A Region I Final series on Friday at Cleburne High School.

Game 2 is scheduled for noon on Saturday, back at Cleburne HS with a third game, if necessary, to follow 30 minutes following Game 2.

Aledo (28-11), trailing 5-1, loaded the bases with two walks and an error to start the seventh, but reliever Parker Ibrahimi struck out the next two hitters. After a passed ball cut the lead to 5-2, David Jones drove in a pair with a single to right and Trace Mazon lined a single to left to tie the game at 5.

Legacy (31-8) shook it off quickly as Ibrahimi gave the Boncos the lead back with a sacrifice fly to center for the first out in the eighth. With two gone Given King singled to center to drive two more home.

Mazon opened the bottom of the first for Aledo with a wind-blown solo homer to right to give the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead.

That held until the third when Legacy scored three unearned runs. Ethan Jaques struck out the first two batters of the inning before an error on a Dylan Schlaegel grounder to short gave the Broncos life. Ibrahimi followed with a single to center to push Schlaegel to third.

Kayden Voelkel doubled to left to plate Schlaegel and Andrew Taylor doubled to right to drive in Ibrihimi and Voelkel.

Legacy tacked on two more in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Taylor and a RBI single to center by Blake Julius.

Argyle 4, Stephenville 0

Argyle will be seeking its fourth state title in five trips to the state tournament after sweeping Stephenville with a 4-0 win on Friday in the Class 4A Region I Final at Weatherford College.

Argyle (34-3-1) will play at either 1 or 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the University of Texas-Austin in the state semifinals. The Eagles won titles in 2015, 2018 and 2019.

Argyle pitchers Trevor Duck and Hudson Emeterio combined on a one-hitter. Duck allowed a one-out single in the third as the duo recorded 14 strikeouts on the day.

Duck went five innings with nine Ks and Emeterio got five of the final six outs via strikeout.

Ryan Hulke got the scoring started for the Eagles with a two-out, two-run double to left, just over the head of the Yellowjacket’s left fielder.

Argyle added to the lead in the fifth when Colton Roquemore blooped a bases-loaded singled to right center driving in Alex D’Angelo and Hunter Sandifer.

Stephenville (24-12-1) knocked Argyle out in the regional final last season and was hoping for a return trip to Austin for a shot at a title after losing to eventual champion Texarkana Pleasant Grove in the semifinals.

This story was originally published June 4, 2022 at 4:32 AM.