Marble Falls baseball wins series against Vista Ridge; remains tied for first
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School baseball team showed its grit and mental toughness during a doubleheader against Cedar Park Vista Ridge on April 6.Both teams were battling for their playoff lives. But in the end, the Mustangs came away with 5-4 and 7-5 victories in Games 2 and 3, showing no ill effects from a 4-2 loss the night before.
The Mustangs’ biggest producers showed why.
Senior Stacy Heinatz played well both on the field and at the plate. In the final game, he broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a three-run homer.
“My favorite pitch,” Heinatz said with grin. “It was a fastball down pitched right down the middle.”
Heavy winds swirled throughout the day, so Heinatz said he was surprised when it went over the left-field wall.
He made every routine play at shortstop, and when the Mustangs needed a relief pitcher in the fifth, Heinatz stepped on the mound. He threw the final three innings and only gave up two runs.
When it seemed the Rangers were going to add more than two runs in the sixth inning, Heinatz forced them to leave the bases loaded. He struck out two batters and forced the final batter to fly out to senior right-fielder Jay Watson.
“I was pretty nervous in the sixth,” Heinatz said. “But we got through it. It turned out good. I wanted to get it over with and get the job done.”
“The last two weeks, Heinatz has played like we knew he could play all year,” Mustangs head coach J.T. Blair said. “We saw spurts. Now we’re seeing how good he really is. He’s been as advertised.”
In Game 2, senior pitcher Cole Ridgely delivered. The Rangers respected his breaking ball but couldn’t keep from swinging.
Offensively, Heinatz recorded two RBIs.
Blair acknowledged some errors were made while trying to field balls but added when the Mustangs needed to make a play, they did.
Marble Falls remains tied for first place with Dripping Springs after the Tigers won their series against Leander 2-1.
jfierro@thepicayune.com
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ON OFFENSE: (Game 2) Marble Falls – RBIs: Stacy Heinatz 2, Carson Bowen 1, Jay Watson 1, Jimmy Damico 1; Vista Ridge – RBIs: Jake Hicks 2, Brett Burrington 1, Zach Walsh 1. (Game 3) Marble Falls – Home Runs: Heinatz; RBIs: Heinatz 3, Damico 2, Watson 1. Vista Ridge – Hicks 2, Tyler Johnson 1, Dylan Bein 1, Burrington 1
ON DEFENSE: (Game 1) Winning pitcher (Vista Ridge) – Dylan Bein 14 strikeouts; losing pitcher – Cody Goodman (4-3). (Game 2) Winning pitcher (Marble Falls) – Cole Ridgely (7-1-1) 2 earned runs off 7 hits with 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch and 6 strikeouts in 7 innings; losing pitcher (Vista Ridge) Tyler Ziemann 2 earned runs off 4 hits with 2 walks and 2 hits by pitches in 5 innings. (Game 3) Winning pitcher (Marble Falls) Stacy Heinatz (2-0) 1 earned run off 1 hit with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts in 2⅔ innings; losing pitcher (Vista Ridge) Brett Burrington 5 earned runs off 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 hits by pitches and 5 strikeouts
KEY STAT: The Rangers gave more free bases thanks to walks and hits by pitches than the Mustangs. Vista Ridge gave Marble Falls a total of 13 free bases; Marble Falls gave Vista Ridge a total of 3.
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 18-4 overall and 10-2 in District 25-4A; Vista Ridge is 14-10-1 overall and 5-7 in district play.
UP NEXT: Marble Falls at Dripping Springs at the Sports and Recreation Park, 27148 RR 12 in Dripping Springs, 7 p.m. April 9
[/tab] [tab title=”DISTRICT STANDINGS”]
Dripping Springs, 10-2
Marble Falls, 10-2
Leander, 9-6
Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 5-7
Cedar Park, 4-8
Leander Vandegrift, 4-11
Leander Rouse, 3-9
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Marble Falls High School senior second baseman Mike Richardson throws a ground ball to first base for the out. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
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Marble Falls High School senior shortstop Stacy Heinatz throws to first base for the out. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
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