KF89

Liberty holds on to beat Iowa Park in Class 4A state semifinals All Liberty needed was one big inning from its bats. The Panthers started connecting at the plate in the third frame and held on in the clutch for a 5-3 victory over Iowa Park in the UIL Class 4A state semifinals Thursday evening at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin. Liberty (37-6), the defending state champion, will take on Sweeny (31-9) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin. Sweeny defeated Bullard 8-1 in the other semifinal contest. Liberty is aiming for its third title in the past four completed seasons. The Panthers won their first championship in 2018 and last season won another state championship last year. Sweeny is seeking the second title in program history after winning the 3A crown in 1996. The Bulldogs are making their fourth state appearance overall. This will mark the ninth time since softball became a UIL sport in 1993 that two Houston-area teams will face off in the state title game. The most recent came in 2019 when Katy defeated Klein Collins for the 6A title.

Friendswood sweeps Lake Creek, advances to state semifinals Friendswood used the long ball to put an end to Lake Creek’s run. In the process, the Mustangs are moving on to the Final Four. Friendswood beat Lake Creek, 8-3, in Game 2 to sweep the Region III-5A championship series Thursday at Rice University’s Reckling Park to advance to the UIL state semifinals next week. “It’s huge,” Friendswood coach Cory Benavides said. “Especially coming from last year and that heartbreak. Day 1, these guys, this is what we wanted. It’s big for definitely our program, but for our community.” The Mustangs (29-7-1) hit two home runs to power their way to a sweep of the Lions, who finished the season with a 28-7 record in their first regional finals appearance in school history. Friendswood’s season ended last year in the region finals to eventual state champion Barbers Hill. “First of all, congratulations to Friendswood, their community, their high school,” Lake Creek coach Jeremy Schramm said. “They’re well-deserving. I wish them the best of luck in the state tournament. Congratulations to Friendswood, their coaching staff, they did an outstanding job. I know they’ll represent our Region III.” Boots Landry crushed a two-run home run to right in the first inning to spot Friendswood a 2-0 lead. “He squared up three baseballs last night, and they just didn’t happen to fall,” Benavides said. “The next night, he comes out here and gets one, and it goes. So that’s just how it goes. But that’s huge, getting going in that very first inning.” The Mustangs added a run in the second when Dylan Maxcey doubled down the left-field line. Lions left fielder Luke Ekdall fired a throw to shortstop Blake Brown, who relayed the throw to catcher Aiden Delacerda to cut down a runner attempting to score on the play to end the inning. Lake Creek pulled within 3-1 when Sam Lee hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Samson Pugh in the second. Maxcey, who went 2-for-2 with five RBIs, cranked a three-run homer down the left-field line in the fourth, giving Friendswood a five-run lead. “He does that day in and day out,” Benavides said of Maxcey. “That’s who he is. It’s funny because he’s known for his defense, one of the best defensive catchers I’ve ever seen, especially at the high school level. But people kind of forget about his offense and his power.” The Mustangs’ long balls accounted for five of their eight runs. “They ran into two balls, one in the first, one in the fourth, those were big for them,” Schramm said. “Against a team like that, it kind of put us in a hole. I felt that we were still fighting, we were still getting guys on base.” The Lions cut the lead in half in the fifth on a two-run single to center by James Kennedy. Mustangs reliever Dane Perry had runners on second and third after Ethan Davis hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line, following Kennedy’s two-RBI base knock, but got a strikeout to end the threat. Friendswood tacked on two more in the sixth on Maxcey’s sac fly into shallow right field and Reed South’s RBI double. That made it 8-3. South went 2-for-4. Ayden Pearcy was 2-for-4 for the Mustangs. Ethan Uribe was 2-for-3 for the Lions. Jaron Lyness was 1-for-4 with a triple. Pugh was 1-for-4. The Lions had runners on the corners with no outs in the sixth, but Perry retired the next three batters to end the inning. Lake Creek starter Jace Newkirk went 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs, six hits and no walks. Friendswood starter Easton Tumis worked 4.2 innings, giving up three runs, three hits and two walks. Lions middle reliever Bryce Pacovsky went two innings, allowing two runs, three hits and a walk. Closer Jack Haag worked 1.1 innings, giving up no runs, no hits and no walks, while striking out two. Perry went 1.1 innings, allowing no runs, two hits, and no walks, while fanning two. Griffin Kasemeyer closed the door, working the final inning, allowing a hit, no runs and no walks. “It’s hard right now to sum it up to words,” Schramm said. “Our seniors have always honored this program, each and every day by their work ethic. They’ve left a legacy here of high expectations, not only on the field, but in the classroom, in the community. They’re outstanding young men, those seven guys. We appreciate everything they have done for our program.” Jim McCurdy, Correspondent. June 2, 2022 10:09 p.m.

S.A. Reagan- 3 Lake Travis- 2 Final, 9 innings

Game 1- Georgetown- 4 Pioneer- 0 Final

Game 1- Wakeland- 2 Forney- 1 Final

Game 1- London- 3 Bishop- 1 Final

Game 2- Gunter- 4 Pottsboro- 1 Final

Game 2 - Brock- 4 Bowie- 1 Final

Lake Travis- 2 San Antonio Reagan- 2 Headed to the 9th inning

Game 1- Heath- 6 Rockwall- 0 Final

Game 1- Southlake Carroll- 2 Keller- 0 Final

Game 1- Argyle- 8 Stephenville- 1 Final

Game 1- China Spring- 3 Carthage- 2 Final Bryce Tabor with a 2 rbi walk off double in the bottom of the 8th for the win

Carthage- 2 China Spring- 1 Going Bottom 8. China Spring is Home Team

Game 2- Friendswood- 8 Lake Creek- 3 Final

Game 1- Ridge Point- 3 Strake- 0 Final

Looks like Lake Creek pitching imploded with walks & balks to lose game 1.

Friendswood tops Lake Creek, 4-1, in region finals opener Ted Dunnam, Staff writer Friendswood moved within one victory of a Class 5A state baseball tournament berth with a 4-1 victory over Lake Creek Wednesday night at Reckling Park. The triumph, the 10th consecutive for the Mustangs, gives them a 1-0 lead in the Region 3-5A best-of-three championship series. Friendswood (28-7) scored four runs in the fourth inning to overcome an early 1-0 deficit, and Mustang pitcher Jacob Rogers was dominant over the final six innings in earning the complete game win. Rogers struck out five and allowed just four hits in silencing the Lion bats while Dane Perry had two of Friendswood’s five hits. The Mustangs fueled the decisive inning with three consecutive two-out walks to Collin Goolsby, Ayden Pearcy and Tatum Black. The third base-on-balls of the inning, issued to Black, brought home Perry, who had singled, to knot the game at 1-1. Goolsby then scored on a balk and Kyle Lockhart followed with an RBI-single for a 3-1 score. Black then came home on a wild pitch to produce the 4-1 lead. Lake Creek (28-6) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Jaron Lyness walked, Ethan Davis singled and a passed ball put runners at second and third. Samson Pugh then delivered a sacrifice fly to right field.

5-2 Final score

Yes they are.

Coastal Bend Area shows up for high school baseball playoff games especially when these 2 teams play

What is an "illegal transfer". UIL seems to have a different definition depending on the schools involved.....

So AD is replacing a winning baseball coach that built a strong program the 17 years he was there with a buddy hire??? Sounds like some NISD shenanigans😎

Not sure the total years Wiggins has teaching for retirement but he has 17 years as Crosby Head Baseball coach. He might want a change of scenery, better paying job, maybe some one higher up did not want him at Crosby anymore or it could be a mutual decision on both sides to move on???

2019-Monsignor Kelly Catholic School in Beaumont, Texas serves 441 students in grades 9-12. What does that add up to?