Marble Falls baseball preserves Game 1 win against Leander with play at plate
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The Leander High School baseball team had the momentum in the seventh inning, even though the Lions had two outs against Marble Falls.But when the ball was hit to left field, the Mustangs’ Jimmy Damico didn’t hesitate. He fired the ball back to catcher Joey Blackledge, who was waiting at the plate to tag out the runner.
Ballgame.
Marble Falls beat Leander 5-4 in Game 1 of their District 25-4A series at Scearce Field on April 16.
Damico, a senior, grinned when asked how often the Mustangs practice throws from the outfield to home plate.
“Every day,” he said. “It’s something natural. I picked it up and threw it.”
“That’s just something we work on all the time,” Mustangs head coach J.T. Blair said. “All of our outfielders can make that throw. We haven’t had too many of those plays at the plate. Jimmy put it on the money, and Joey did a great job of blocking the plate and putting the tag on (the Leander runner).”
Even with the Lions putting two runners in scoring position in the final inning, Damico said he wasn’t worried because of senior pitcher Cole Ridgely.
“I have so much confidence in Ridgely,” he said. “I told him to keep pitching well, and we’ll shove the runs.”
Early on, Leander scored three runs in the first inning, but the Mustangs responded in the second when Damico hit an RBI single and junior Carson Bowen tied the game with a two-run double.
In the fourth, Mustangs junior J.T. Watson scored from second base on a fielding error and added a run in the fifth when junior Domenic Patterson recorded the RBI.
Blair said the Mustangs and the Lions are very similar teams. Both squads have strong pitching staffs and both are aggressive in running the bases.
The Mustangs have won six one-run games this season.
“We’ve dug ourselves in some holes,” Blair said, “but we seem to have always found a way to get out of them.”
Marble Falls has already clinched a playoff spot. The Mustangs can win the district crown by taking the series against the Lions. Game 2 is 7 p.m. April 19 at Leander. Game 3 is 2 p.m. April 20 at Scearce Field.
jfierro@thepicayune.com
[tabs style=”default”] [tab title=”GAME STATS”]
ON OFFENSE: Marble Falls – RBIs: Carson Bowen 2, Jimmy Damico 2, Domenic Patterson 1
ON DEFENSE: Winning pitcher (Marble Falls) Cole Ridgely (9-1-1), 3 earned runs off 9 hits with 2 walks, 1 hit by a pitch and 9 strikeouts; losing pitcher (Leander) Patrick Glaze, 3 earned runs off 4 hits with 3 walks, 2 hit by pitches and 1 strikeout
QUOTABLE: “The team that wins this district has earned it. It’s been a gauntlet, it’s a grind. I’m so proud of our guys to keep battling and fighting through every bit of adversity set in front of us,” Marble Falls head coach J.T. Blair said.
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 21-5 overall and 13-3 in District 25-4A; Leander is 9-7 in district play.
UP NEXT: GAME 2 — Marble Falls at Leander, 3301 S. Bagdad Road in Leander, 7 p.m. April 19; GAME 3 — Marble Falls vs. Leander, 2 p.m. April 20 at Scearce Field, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls
[/tab] [tab title=”DISTRICT STANDINGS”]
Marble Falls, 13-3
Dripping Springs, 12-4
Leander, 9-7
Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 8-8
Cedar Park, 5-11
Leander Rouse, 6-10
Leander Vandegrift, 4-14
[/tab] [/tabs]