MUMFORD — The Thrall Tigers varsity baseball team is headed to the state semifinals for the first time in 25 years after sweeping Anderson-Shiro in the regional finals, closing out the series with a 10-2 victory on Friday, May 23, at Mumford High School.
The Tigers opened the series with a 3-0 shutout in Game 1.
Senior utility player Maverick McAllister led the way for Thrall, going 2-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs. Senior Hayden Heselmeyer sparked the offense with a double to open the first inning, and sophomore Gus Navejas followed with an RBI single to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Anderson-Shiro went down in order in the bottom half, and both teams were scoreless in the second.
Thrall extended its lead to 2-0 in the third on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded. Sophomore Weston Smiley added an RBI single in the fifth to make it 3-0.
The Tigers broke the game open in the sixth inning, scoring five runs with two outs on RBI singles from McAllister and senior Nick Treuter. Smiley capped the rally with an RBI double to push the lead to 8-0. McAllister doubled in the seventh to make it 10- 0.
Anderson-Shiro plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a walk and an RBI single, but a pair of strikeouts and an infield fly ended the game.
Junior Bryce Brinkmeyer earned the win on the mound, pitching six innings and allowing two runs while striking out five. Sophomore Jack Gustafson closed out the game with two strikeouts.
Smiley and Treuter combined to go 4-for-9 at the plate with four RBIs.
Thrall (8-0 in the postseason) will now turn its attention to the state semifinals, where it will face the Orange Grove Bulldogs in a best-of-three series. Orange Grove lost its postseason opener to Taft but has won eight straight games since. McAllister is expected to start Game 1 for the Tigers, while Orange Grove will likely counter with ace Eliazar Arias. Brinkmeyer is slated to start Game 2 for Thrall, with Zach Wright set to pitch for the Bulldogs. Wright also leads Orange Grove with a .434 batting average.
The series begins Wednesday, May 28, at 7 p.m., followed by Game 2 on Thursday, May 29, at 7 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Saturday, May 31, at 3 p.m. All games will take place at North East Sports Park in San Antonio.
