LEXINGTON – The Thrall Tigers varsity baseball team picked up a 4-1 victory over the Lexington Eagles on Tuesday, April 7.
Bryce Brinkmeyer got the start on the mound and delivered a dominant performance, throwing six innings while allowing just one hit, striking out 11 and issuing three walks to earn the win.
Jack Gustafson came on in relief and shut the door in the seventh inning, recording two strikeouts to secure the victory.
Thrall wasted no time getting on the board, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Weston Smiley drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single, and Kwest Dodge followed with a two-RBI single to give the Tigers an early 3-0 advantage.
Smiley led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, as Thrall finished with eight hits as a team. Additional singles from Gus Navejas and Logan Heselmeyer helped spark the early offensive surge.
Lexington threatened in the bottom half of the first inning, attempting to steal home, but the runner was thrown out at the plate to end the inning and halt the momentum.
The Tigers added an insurance run later in the game when Gustafson delivered an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0. Brinkmeyer settled in from there, finding his rhythm and keeping the Eagles off balance through the middle innings.
Lexington mounted threats in both the third and fourth innings, putting runners in scoring position, but Brinkmeyer worked out of each jam to preserve the shutout at the time. The Eagles broke through in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-1 and had a chance to add more, but Brinkmeyer recorded two consecutive outs to end the inning and extinguish the rally.
With the win, Thrall improved to 9-11-1 overall and 3-4 in district play as the Tigers continue to battle for a postseason spot down the stretch.
Thrall wrapped up the series against Lexington on Friday and will return to action Tuesday when it hosts Rockdale at 7 p.m. at Thrall High School.
