Furious Keller comeback dooms Euless Trinity: Indians reach state semifinals

A mantra of the Keller baseball team this season has been ‘Win Texas’ and the Indians are well on their way to doing just that. Keller has taken the first quarter of the state by virtue of an 8-7 win in eight innings over Euless Trinity in Game 2 on Friday to sweep their Class 6A Division I regional final series at Weatherford College.

As the Region I champion, Keller (37-3-2) will get a chance to take half the state when the Indians meet Rockwall (26-16-3) in the state semifinals next week.

In Game 1 on Thursday, a 5-4 win by Keller, Trinity was playing from behind, but on this day the Trojans led for much of the contest. It looked as if a Game 3 was imminent after Trinity scored twice in the top of the seventh to take a 6-2 lead.

Trinity catcher Deacon Baker laced a bases-loaded double to right center to score Rylan Alaniz (walk) and John Emory (single), but Keller wasn’t done. Trojans starting pitcher Zach Ryan twirled a gem against the Indians, allowing two unearned runs on five hits in six complete innings, but Ryan began to tire and walked Bodie Davis and Cole Koeninger to start the bottom of the seventh.

Ethan Reitz came on in relief for Trinity and promptly walked Brock Burkett to load the bases with none out. Max Segura then blasted a clutch double to left field to score Davis and Koeninger to make it 6-4.

Reitz did induce a double play ball off the bat of Jayden Moeller, but Burkett scored on the play to make it 6-5, with Segura moving up to third. Carson Lesley sent the home crowd into frenzy when he ripped a single to right field to score Segura and tie the game at 6-6.

The Indians had a chance to win it when Maddox McCrary followed with a double to right-center, but Lesley was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base to end the inning.

Seeming unfazed, Trinity answered right back in the top of the eighth inning when Cooper Phillips led off with a lined double down the right-field line. Austin Witt came in to run for Phillips and moved to third on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Reitz, then came home on a single to center by David Dagnino to make it 7-6.

Reitz induced a groundout to short to start the bottom of the eighth, but that was the only out he would wind up getting. Koeninger had told Davis to “just get on base” because he just felt like something good was going to happen.

When Davis struck out on a wild pitch and reached first base, something good did happen for the Indians. Koeninger ripped a ball to center field that got by a diving Zo Palmore, scoring Davis to tie the game again, 7-7.

Koeninger stole third just before Burkett laced a single to right for the game-winner.

This is the third Final Four appearance for Keller which lost to Klein Oak, 2-1, in the state semifinals in 1991 and lost to Rockwall-Heath, 4-3, in the 2021 state championship game. Trinity (26-12-2) reached the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 season.

Trinity was 15-13-1 overall and 5-11 in district play in 2025.

This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 12:05 AM.