THRALL – The Thrall Tigers varsity baseball team appears to have found a turning point in its season, picking up a pair of victories over Rogers and Lago Vista this past weekend.
The Tigers earned their first district win of the year with a 7-0 victory over Rogers on Friday, March 27, before edging Lago Vista 3-2 on Saturday, March 28.
Rogers
The win over Rogers was much needed for Thrall, which entered the game losing four of its last five.
Junior utility player Weston Smiley delivered a dominant performance on the mound, throwing a complete-game one-hitter while striking out 10.
Junior first baseman Gus Navejas led the Tigers offensively, going 2-for-3 with a seasonhigh five RBIs, highlighted by a grand slam and a solo home run.
Smiley helped his own cause early, driving in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the first inning to give Thrall a 1-0 lead. The Tigers’ offense remained quiet until the fifth, when Navejas launched a solo home run to make it 2-0.
Thrall broke the game open in the sixth inning, loading the bases before Navejas delivered a grand slam to extend the lead to 6-0. Bryce Brinkmeyer followed with an RBI single to push the advantage to 7-0, sealing the shutout victory.
Lago Vista
The matchup against Lago Vista proved to be much more competitive, as both teams relied on strong pitching performances.
Witten Hammit got the start for the Tigers and went five innings, allowing two runs on one hit while striking out two.
Navejas continued his strong weekend at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, including a key double in the fifth inning that helped secure the win.
Thrall opened the scoring on an RBI single by Brinkmeyer to take a 1-0 lead. The Tigers added to their advantage in the fifth inning when Navejas delivered a two-run double, extending the lead to 3-0.
Lago Vista responded in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases and capitalizing on an error to score two runs and cut the deficit to 3-2.
Thrall had an opportunity to add insurance runs in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded but was unable to capitalize. However, the Tigers’ pitching held firm, retiring the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the victory. Jack Gustafson earned the save.
With the two wins, Thrall improved to 7-9-1 overall and 1-3 in district play. The Tigers faced Cameron on Tuesday and will close out the series at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Cameron.
