Franklin defeats Brock with well executed small ball in Class 3A state championship
Brock baseball could not execute on several challenging defensive plays, and it cost the Eagles a state championship.
Franklin made things tough on Brock with well placed hits and well executed small ball to secure a 7-4 victory in the Class 3A title game on Saturday at Dell Diamond. Reliever Josh Atomanczyk slammed the door with 4 2/3 scoreless innings and made a terrific backhand play to finish the ballgame.
“I love them,” Brock head coach Koby Page said of his team. “I’m proud of them. It’s a really good group. ... Their character is to go and have fun and play hard.”
Page credited Atomanczyk for keeping his offense off balance.
“He had some really good off speed stuff and was able to mix us up,” Page said. “He’s been really good for Franklin all year long.”
Brock starting pitcher Cam Harris allowed three earned runs and three hits in three innings pitched. The Lions put pressure on Harris and the Eagle defense with well placed bunts, sacrifices and efficient base running.
“We knew that they were going to bunt,” Page said. “We knew that they can do that really well. We just had to execute on our part. We just didn’t execute like we wanted to. ... Credit to (Franklin) for executing on what they had to do and making us have to make plays.”
The game was tied at 4-4 for three consecutive frames ahead of the seventh inning. Brock had two outs when the game snowballed out of control.
A high pop fly in shallow left field dropped right on the inside of the third base line with three Eagles near the play batting the sun. A run scored. The Lions continued to score three runs in the inning and Brock failed to respond.
“I don’t know if a fly ball can be put in any better place for three guys,” Page said. “It just is what it is.”
Page credited his seniors for being a “special group.” He said their contributions to the program are phenomenal and can’t be matched.
“I’m so proud of them,” Page said. “Not a whole lot of people gave us a chance to be here, except for us. And they put in the work. ... I’m proud to be their coach.”
Small ball gets the job done for Franklin
Franklin got off to a hot start, putting up three runs in the first inning with high quality small ball. A walk, wild pitch, sacrifice bunt and a weak ground ball for an infield single from freshman first baseman AJ Phillips plated the Lions first run.
A perfectly placed bunt single in between the pitchers’ mound and first base scored the second run. Another bunt from junior catcher Noah Tart was perfectly placed down the third base line for an RBI single.
Brock got on the board in the bottom half of the first with a walk from Canon Lightfoot and a pair of wild pitches from Franklin starter Cadyn Shaw. The Lions retook a three run lead in the third inning with the same small ball strategy; a walk, sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch set up a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman Eric Gomez.
The bottom half of the third inning, however, saw the Eagles’ offense come alive. Senior center fielder Sawyer Strosnider, a TCU commit, recorded Brock’s first hit of the day with an RBI triple that scored Texas Tech commit Jesse Rusinek, who walked.
“(The triple) really got us going,” Page said. “It gave us a little bit of life and let us know this thing isn’t over.”
Brock’s Cooper Massey cut the lead with a sacrifice fly and Asa Parenteau tied the ballgame with a two out single up the middle of the infield.
“We fought back and we found a way to give ourselves a chance,” Page said.
Following three scoreless innings from both squads, the Lions started their seventh inning offensive onslaught.
Brock reliever Cole Stanley kept the Lions’ offense contained for three innings. He threw a solid frame in the seventh, but the Eagle defense was put in a challenging spot and could not make potential highlight plays on well placed balls.
“They fell short but that doesn’t take anything away from who they are as players,” Page said.
Stanley was charged with one earned run and gave up three hits in four innings. Page said he “pitched his tail off.”
The Lions made their first baseball state tournament appearance in the 2024 season, capitalizing with a title win. Brock made its eighth state tournament appearance following a District 8-3A regular season title. The Eagles’ sole state championship came in the 2008 season.
“I don’t know if we executed our best, but I know every single one of our kids gave everything that they had,” Page said.
This story was originally published June 8, 2024 at 12:28 PM.
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