Marble Falls baseball takes Game 1 in its series against Dripping Springs
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
DRIPPING SPRINGS — From the size of the crowd to the adrenaline pumping, everything signaled a fight for first place in the District 25-4A baseball standings April 9.
In the end, the Marble Falls Mustangs made sure Game 1 of its series against Dripping Springs wasn’t close, winning 9-0.
“It was a playoff atmosphere,” Marble Falls head coach J.T. Blair said. “I told our kids the crowds are only going to get bigger. I’m happy we came out on top.”
Marble Falls scored nine runs off 10 hits and committed one error, plating four runs in the third inning and five in the sixth.
Senior Jay Watson, who suffered a foot injury while playing football that forced him to miss the basketball season and half of the baseball season, recorded three RBIs and went 2-for-4 from the plate.
“It was just our night,” Blair said. “That’s just the way this team is. We were very patient at the plate. We had a lot of base runners on. We kept getting big hits. It kind of snowballed.”
The Tigers used three pitchers: starter Chance Callihan, middle reliever Matt Weaver and closer Lake Dabney.
Dabney made his appearance in the sixth inning but couldn’t stop the Mustangs from scoring. Marble Falls took advantage of two errors.
The Mustangs could have scored sooner. The bases were loaded in the first inning, but Callihan struck out two to end the threat.
Blair said he gathered his players and reminded them the game just started.
“I talked to them about being patient,” he said. “I told them we’d have more opportunities, and we did. A lot of times, we get hung up on runners we strand. If you’re stranding, that means you have a lot of runners on base. We had a lot of opportunities last night.”
Meanwhile, the Mustangs stuck with same pitcher, senior Cody Goodman, who delivered one of the biggest victories in a ballpark that hasn’t been kind to Marble Falls. This was the second district home loss for the Tigers out of seven games and the Mustangs’ first win there in several years.
“He threw a great game,” Blair said. “It was a good night for him to throw. He was ready before the game started. I could tell.”
The Tigers had a chance to score in the first inning, Blair said, but Goodman was able to keep the game scoreless, which fired up the Mustangs.
“Cody made good pitches and got out of a couple of crucial jams,” the coach said. “It ended up going in our favor. We made some good defensive plays. We played great defense last night.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
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ON OFFENSE: Marble Falls – RBIs: Jay Watson 3, Joey Blackledge 2
ON DEFENSE: Winning pitcher (Marble Falls) – Cody Goodman (5-3); losing pitcher (Dripping Springs) Chance Callihan (4-2)
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 19-4 overall and 11-2 in District 25-4A; Dripping Springs is 16-5 overall and 10-3 in district play.
UP NEXT: GAME 2 — Marble Falls vs. Dripping Springs, 7 p.m. April 12 at Scearce Field, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls; GAME 3 — Marble Falls at Dripping Springs at the Sports and Recreation Park, 2 p.m. April 13
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Marble Falls, 11-2
Dripping Springs, 10-3
Leander, 9-6
Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 6-7
Cedar Park, 4-9
Leander Rouse, 4-9
Leander Vandegrift, 4-12
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